


A Good Place to Start

by Ladyhawk_lhflu



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Falling In Love, Family, Force Ghost(s), Forgiveness, Jedi Code (Star Wars), Lightsabers, Tusken Raiders (Star Wars)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2020-03-24
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:21:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 27,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22071724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ladyhawk_lhflu/pseuds/Ladyhawk_lhflu
Summary: Ben Solo prepared to give himself up to the Force so that his other half could succeed where he had failed. But then he found himself dealing with his *family*.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 40
Kudos: 176





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Here's my contribution to the slapping JJ across the head. Please do make sure you've watched The Rise of Skywalker before reading.  
> I've documented as much as possible the site/book/etc where I got the information I used in the story in case you'd like to read more.

Ben pulled back from the kiss with a smile. He knew he had everything he wanted right then. Rey was here. Rey was with him. Rey had rejected the Dark Side. 

He laughed softly as he looked into her bright eyes. The Force that bound them together told him of her joy and her hope for the future. She had dreams to fulfill, friends to support. A life to live.

Suddenly, Ben felt much older than his thirty years. In many ways, his life was over in this moment. If he went with her back to the rebels, he would be imprisoned, ostracized, maybe even tortured for the things he had done under her grandfather. He could handle that, of course, with the stoicism it would deserve. But it would eat away at Rey to know that he could only endure. He couldn't, wouldn't, would have no right to, fight back against the judgement of her friends. And she would only be able to watch.

He couldn't do that to her. So he closed his eyes to remember that glow in his other half one more time. Then he laid back.

"Don't you dare, Brat!"

Ben startled and sat up. In front on him was a tall blond young man in a tan Jedi tunic lazing on a black throne surrounded by rubble. It felt like the scene he and Rey had just faced. But the throne was different, better than the one that haunted his other half. Somehow it was a bright black, which seemed less evil than the dull painful dark of the one in Palpatine's lair.

His other half! She was nowhere near him at the moment. His sense of her was...distant. "Where am I? Where's Rey?!" Ben exclaimed as he tried to stand. But at the moment, he couldn't. He was too weak.

"Your spirit is on Coruscant, or what's left of it. That man who fooled both of us had no idea how to take care of his toys. Don't worry about your other half for the moment. She's right where you left her. Where you *will* be going back to." The last sentence was said in a familiar deep baritone.

Ben startled again. The blond man looked agitated for a moment, then took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Stop that or I'll never hear the end of Solo's complaining."

Ben stared at the blue cast around the blond man, then at his uncle's bright blue eyes in that much taller frame. His grandfather stared back. Ben laughed at the absurd thought that streaked through his tired mind. "You're a taller version of Uncle Luke."

Anakin snorted. "He's a shorter version of me, at least physically. Mentally, though, I probably have more in common with that blasted Corellian who fathered you."

"Really?" Ben asked curiously. "That probably didn't sit well with Dad."

"It didn't sit well with either of us, actually. But he loved Leia, from the time they met til your idiotic act. He deserved more than he got." Anakin tossed something in the air and caught it again. Ben couldn't be sure, but he thought it looked like a droid memory module. "I never stopped loving your grandmother either. It wasn't easy to hide from that old crone, but I found a way. I buried it deep and locked it away as if my brain was one of these." He held up the module. "Neither he nor Luke knew that Luke should have thanked her for more than his birth. I wouldn't have had enough good inside me to save him without the memories of her."

Ben thought about how his love for Rey had been like that, unexpected, hidden, dangerous. Now that it was free, it gave them both happiness, but it still could be used to bring her immense pain. It was why he wanted to leave the physical plane. 

"That again?" his grandfather grumbled. "At least one of us should learn to handle the sabacc hand we've been dealt. I didn't do it because my children didn't need me. Luke loved the idea of me, but the reality would have left him jaded. Leia might've learned to tolerate me, but I hurt her too much to expect anything more than that. Hells, I'm not sure Threepio would have been glad to see me."

Ben raised an eyebrow. This was the first time he had heard that Anakin had any relation to the family droids.

Anakin just laughed, then held up his hands with the module still in one. "These hands constructed the babysitter who sang you awful lullabies."

"Mom would have had a fit if she had known that." Tears came to Ben's eyes as he realized that Rey really was the only one he could go back to. He knew that in a moment that had been frozen for both of them during all the fighting, Leia had joined her father behind the wall the former Sith wasn't letting Ben go though. "Is she..?"

"Luke has her. She'll be fine. They're trying to get your father out of hiding, but his overblown sense of guilt is making it difficult." Anakin sighed. "Maybe when Calrissian joins us they'll make some headway. The nonsensitive ones tend to hold onto their pain longer. But Calrissian has about as much guilt as Artoo has patience for Threepio's rants."

Ben laughed. His grandfather was right about his Uncle Lando. But at the moment, the other part of Anakin's statement had his attention. "Did you make Artoo as well?"

"Nope. Artoo is a Nabooian astromech, fit enough for a queen. And loyal enough to make any fighter pilot feel guilty when they have to hand him off to be repaired. I hope Dameron gives him the respect he deserves."

Anakin got up from the throne and walked over to Ben. "I treated them badly too, both droids. But I know Artoo still loves me. Threepio, well, he doesn't remember." He tossed the module up and caught it again. "All of us know you can trust him with many things. A secret isn't one of them, though."

"But Grandfather, they both were wiped a number of times." Ben tried to stand up again to face the other man so he could explain. Seeing the obvious signs of his grandson's injuries, Anakin shook his head before sitting on the floor in front of him.

"I taught Artoo how to avoid being wiped. He was how Padme and I sent messages to one another without alerting the Jedi Council. He's never lost his memory. But Threepio wasn't so lucky. Obi-Wan wiped Threepio himself after I turned. My old master, however, has as much respect for droids as we do, and your other half does. He replaced the memory module and saved the old one. Organa put it in one of the Temple's storerooms for safekeeping. Somehow it survived 53 years of war and five monolithic buildings. I think Threepio deserves to have it back. I think he deserves to know that I love him and Artoo. And that I'm grateful for what both of them have done for my family." Anakin ran his hand over Ben's hair, in a way not too dissimilar to Han's touch. A moment later, he handed Ben the memory module. "Tell Artoo that it's a favor for Ani."

Then the former Sith locked eyes with his grandson. "I love you enough to force you to take the second chance I couldn't," Anakin continued. "I owe it to you, for letting Palpatine make you worship the other part of me. It might also give Luke a little peace. He wasn't the one who failed. He was sandswiped by a manipulative madman."

"But I can't," Ben exclaimed softly. "I'll just start it all over again." They both knew what 'it' was. The evidence of Anakin's version was in the rubble all around them.

"Do you love the one the Force chose for you? *Really* love her?" Anakin growled insistently, as he would have for Luke, if the younger man had been willing to listen to someone who had made the mistakes that he had so feared.

"Yes!" Ben snapped, not quite rid of the anger the Dark Side had continuously driven into him.

Anakin leaned back, empathy for his grandson written on his visage. "Then listen to her. I didn't listen to Padme, and the price of my neglect was her life, and nearly all of yours. Real love involves trust. I didn't find that until I felt your uncle's tears. By then, it was too late for me. If you don't know how to trust Rey, trust me for now. I won't leave you on your own. I know what you fear, and that you're right, you could start the whole thing over again. But I also knows she will be stronger with you by her side. Reconstructing the Jedi for a new galaxy won't be easy. She needs somebody who understands what she's trying to do."

Ben frowned as he thought about his past for a moment. "It didn't work for Uncle Luke."

Just then, a shorter man appeared next to Ben. A more familiar man, with the same blue eyes as the ghost in front of him. "I tried to stick to tradition too much," Luke said as he eyed his father. "Rey already knows better than to try that again. She can't, if she has you."

Oh, that made sense. "Because I break the rule of 'no relationships' by default," Ben agreed quietly.

Anakin nodded, then turned to his son. "You should find Antilles. He came back when the gambler called for help."

"He's married, Father," Luke said with the same exasperated tone Ben often heard from his Mom. Ben guessed that the two of them had spoken about this before. He wondered if the two men had been disturbing the Force with this little tiff since Luke's passing into it. Somehow, it wouldn't surprise him if they had.

"His wife knows where his heart really resides. Find him, give him some of that love you bottled for too many years." Anakin pointed a finger at Luke. 

Ben looked between them and remembered the time Wedge Antilles had visited Luke's Jedi training grounds. Antilles had ended up stomping off into the night after their raised voices had woken almost everyone. Ben had not seen him since. He had not asked his uncle what had happened at the time. Now, however, he knew exactly what had transpired. It hadn't been all that different than what he had heard about the last argument between his parents that had permanently separated them.

Luke let out a resigned sigh as his eyes searched his father's face. "I will if you look for Mother."

Anakin threw up his hands. "Fine, I will. But don't say I didn't warn you if she marches the other way the moment I find her. Your sister didn't get even half of her attitude from Bail."

"Then she should have the strength to calm you down long enough to help Ben and Rey through all the changes."

Ben shook his head, trying to find the patience that he had lost years ago. If he was going to face Rey as one of the Light, he would have to practice keeping the Darkness at bay. "I guess love doesn't solve all ills in the galaxy."

"No, it doesn't," Luke agreed. "But it's a good place to start. Go, help Rey get out of that forsaken place. Take her and the droids to Tatooine. The farm will give you both the quiet you'll need to think. And you will both need to do plenty of thinking."

Ben gazed on his uncle and grandfather one more time. He was glad for their help. But Luke was right, he needed to go back now. So he closed his eyes and called to the one who had somehow been with him constantly since he was ten.

When he opened his eyes again, he immediately stared into Rey's. But this time he did it while holding a droid memory module in his right hand.


	2. Chapter 2

Ben knew that Palpatine had manipulated the situation for Rey as much as he had for Ben and his grandfather. The old man had been unable to whisper in her ear, as he had done to Anakin and Ben. So he had done something worse. He had drawn her to this hideous place, then gave her an ultimatum without her knowledge. It was to be the Dark Side or death for her.

The Sith leader had almost gotten what he wanted. He had drained the Force almost completely out of Rey by making her face her dark self, then him in battle. His death meant that she was alone. The others, whether they were ghosts or minions, would not help her. So she was left for dead. There were few resources here that she could use to rest or recuperate afterwards. And Ben was just as drained as she was. If Ben hadn't been able to drag himself to her physically, he probably wouldn't have been able to save her. Or she would have starved to death.

So they needed to leave this bastion of evil, as soon as possible. Working together, the two young Force users stumbled out of the center of her grandfather's meglomania. It wasn't easy. They were both weak, and passing energy back and forth within their bond did little. They both needed to eat, and to rest. But they had to make it out first.

Ben sighed when they finally came to where Rey had landed and he saw her transport. "Please tell me he repaired the S-foil clamps. The wobbling destabilized the wing the last time I flew it in atmosphere."

"It wobbled a little. The clamps may still need to be tightened," Rey replied, watching Ben carefully as he stared at his uncle's ancient fighter. "We can have Artoo or BeeBeeEight do it before I give this thing to Finn. We need a ship that holds more than one being."

Though it would be useless to the two of them once they made it to safety, Ben thought it might have a better purpose than as a training machine for the former Stormtrooper. "I know Luke gave it to you, so you can do whatever you wish with it. But do you mind giving it to General Antilles instead of your friend?"

Rey was instantly curious as to why Ben wanted to give the X-Wing to someone Poe had considered a living legend. "You know him? Was he among the fleet?"

Ben nodded as he turned back to Rey and took her hand. "He's on the main ship. For all your sakes, I'm glad he was able to forgive. He's one of the things Luke sacrificed to become a Jedi."

Rey pulled Ben close. "We've all had to sacrifice for too long, and not always for good reasons. I'll give it to him if he wants it. But please let me fly it back. You're still weaker than I am."

"I don't think I have a choice," Ben replied as he found himself needing Rey's help to pull himself up to the upper wing and into the cockpit.

Leaving Exogol with two of them crammed in Luke's ancient X-Wing was no easy task. But it had to be done. Every other ship that could have helped them was in the sky or out of orbit, and they had no way to call to any of them. The comm had gone out the moment the hatch closed.

Somehow, he doubted Rey would have called for help even if it was possible. He felt the worry for him radiate off her as she steered the ship from his lap. Worry about what her friends would do if they saw him. But she didn't seem concerned about what he might do to them. Ben wondered why.

"Because of who you're calling to for help," she said, answering his unvoiced question.

Ben didn't even realize he was reaching into the Force until that moment. It would have made sense for him to reach for his grandfather. He had spent so much time adoring Anakin's dark side that it would be easy to search for the irreverent young man who had protested him leaving the physical plane.

But even though he knew Anakin would keep his promise to help, the words Ben felt in his mind were not for him. 'What do I do now, Mom?!' he heard his mental voice cry in a tone he had used two decades ago.

Leia didn't answer. Ben hoped it wasn't because she couldn't bear his dark side. She had called to him before she had joined the Force. Despite everything, she had never really rejected him. But that did not stop him from feeling pain at her silence.

Suddenly, Rey leaned back into Ben's chest. Her warmth calmed the panic rising in him. "We start over," Rey softly replied to his question.

"It won't be easy," he worried as he did his best to hold her without interfering with her control of the ship.

"Easy has never been an option we could take," his other half shrugged.

That was when Ben realized that although he had treated Rey as an innocent he could manipulate, then as an extension of his being, he only knew part of her. No, she was not innocent, but somehow she had developed a gentle demeanor behind that fierce strength that had saved them all. He had no idea where it came from. He wanted to know.

She was an extension of him, the Force had made it so. But he was just as much an extension of her. He didn't know what that meant to their bond, yet. Kylo Ren had completely ignored that part. Ben Solo was curious about it. But he was not ready to tackle analyzing it, or figuring out what he didn't know about her. Especially when she kept trying to find ways to get him to sleep until they reached the fleet.

Why did her insistence feel like a landmover and a gentle breeze at the same time? It was disconcerting to realize that although their bond forced them together, it did not force them, did not force *him* to listen to or understand what he had been given. In a very real sense, he did not know her. He felt love when he touched her or gazed into her face, but he didn't know if it was for her, or only for what he thought was her.

"Can we sort it out after you've rested?" Rey argued, making him realize that he had done nothing to shield her from his thoughts. She shouldn't have to listen to his ramblings while steering a rickety ship in an awkward position. So he settled back in the worn seat and closed his eyes.

"Don't make any hard turns in the docking bay," he murmured before he finally fell asleep.

\----

Ben's dreams were troubled. How could they not be? He had now become what his grandfather had been: The most hated man in the galaxy. That fact, and the consequences that came with it, bothered him more than he'd admit, even to Rey.

The nightmares started with the most recent fears, of losing Rey and of Palpatine winning and the galaxy going darker than anyone remembered. Then they began to progress backwards to what had seemed at the time like a momentary ache in his head: the death of his mother. She had died mostly alone, he knew, even while the resistance rallied in her name. Leia had passed into the Force in a way of her choosing, but Ben still was in agony because of it.

She had died alone because he had taken away the people she would have wanted close, her troubled but steadfast lover, the brother who had run in fear of himself but who had never lost trust in her, and the son who had lost patience for it all. They had not been a perfect family. Hells, there were times that even she had wanted to throw up her hands. But she had loved those men with all she had to give. 

And Ben had taken them all away. His regret at his actions consumed him. He cried out in his sleep. Tears ran down his cheeks. Then the arms he had forced himself to forget when he had left came around him. A voice like plasteel wrapped in Alderaanian satin whispered, "I knew you were there, Ben."

In his dream, he cried in his mother's arms. The reprieve gave him a modicum of strength for the last and the worst of his nightmares: his father's murder.

The fact that he was coerced into his anger towards Han didn't lessen Ben's shame. The acceptance in Han's eyes as Ben's saber passed through him didn't stop Ben's internal wail. 

Relief, when it came, arrived from both the familiar and the most unexpected of places. On the physical plane, he felt Rey curl into him, muttering soothing words. This, he simply accepted as her bemusing gentleness, the part of her she gifted him with as soon as he had picked up his mother's saber.

On the mental plane, strong hands gripped his form to share in his pain and his guilt. For their owner had done the same as he had. His grandfather had killed the only father figure he had ever known.

"You will never be able to let that pain go," Anakin whispered. "You never should. Let it be your reason to help correct all the mistakes we have made. Let it be your reason to love."

"I don't deserve love," Ben sighed out, making Rey clutch at his shoulder as Anakin nodded.

"There will be many who believe that. It's impossible to argue against in our position. So love for your father. Give because he would have. Honor him by fighting to become the stability for Rey that Han had so wanted to be for your mom, but couldn't." Anakin's eyes shined with tears.

Ben nodded before he let Rey draw him back to wakefulness, back to her. In that moment, he took the first step in the painful journey his grandfather had pointed to. He let the Force flow through him to hear her thoughts and to let her hear his. For once, their musings echoed each other, in pain and longing.

They dyad held each other as they shared their tears and the anguish of losing their parents.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Wedge Antilles, especially the version in the X-Wing books. I always considered him adviser/friend to both of the twins. My choice of sticking him and Luke together? Luke needs someone he can trust more than himself.  
> 

The docking bay was empty when Rey settled the X-Wing near a corner of the huge room. So she helped Ben out of the cockpit and into a reclining position next to the lower left engine. She sighed as her face took on the pained expression Leia often had when she was doing something she needed to but abhorred. "I hate leaving you here. Are you sure you have enough energy to hide yourself and still keep the bond open? I'll pass you food as soon as I find it, but it may not be much unless I can keep away from Finn for a moment."

"I'll be fine," Ben replied quietly as he mentally tried to soothe her. "Make sure you eat plenty, and celebrate with your friends. Take a few days to relax. We don't have to leave until you're ready."

"I want to head to Tatooine before tomorrow," Rey insisted, continuing the argument they had had right before the landing. "You're not safe here."

"I'm not safe anywhere, min gylif," Ben said for the fifth time as he leaned against the edge of a wing. "If someone here kills me, at least I know it will be in the name of galactic peace."

Rey made a face at the somewhat dubious endearment and let out a growl at what she was beginning to suspect was Skywalker stubbornness. He looked too much like his mother and uncle when he argued. "Don't move until I get back," she snapped, expecting him to obey her for once. "I won't be long."

Ben nodded and closed his eyes, hoping to get some more sleep before the droids came through to repair the fighters. Rey couldn't hold on to her annoyance for long. She didn't want to. So she laid her cheek on the top of his head for a moment as she did her best to will his nightmares away, then left so he could disguise his presence before sleep took him.

\----

Ben could hear the astromechs beeping and whirring away at repairs when he woke. He mustn't have slept long, because a quick look around him indicated that Rey had not passed him anything yet (she couldn't do it while he was asleep, but she could wake him so slightly that he wouldn't remember it later).

It wasn't Rey who woke him, but a presence near the X-Wing. Ben looked up to see Wedge Antilles stroking a hand over the hull. Uncle Luke would be pleased that the man had aged well, Ben thought as he shifted to keep the rebel pilot from touching him accidentally. The grey hair gave him a distinguished look.

Ben was still too weak to be the well-coordinated Force user most people knew him as. His shifting went awry, and he muffled a sound of pain when his sprained knee hit the side of the engine. Wedge froze when he heard it, then went over to the edge of the collapsed wings, where a cup and a plate sat. A moment later, there was a Nabooian egg pocket in Ben's lap.

"Eat," Wedge said as he sat on the wings. "Nobody's here but the droids, and they're all busy."

Ben let the Force shield fall as he picked up the pastry. "I thought you weren't Force sensitive," he said as he watched Wedge calmly pick up another pastry and bite into it. The general did not look at all surprised by or fearful of Ben's presence.

"I'm not, but when you're friends with two of the most powerful Force users in the galaxy, you pick up a few things. Force shields shimmer when they touch metal, unless you deliberately hide the distortion." 

Ben nodded, now remembering that lesson from his training. "I was too exhausted to be that thorough."

Wedge studied Ben's face for a moment, then his neck. "No wonder. Who in that Sithhell used you as a power conductor?"

"What?!" A shiver ran through the younger man as he realized how eerily close to the truth Wedge's statement was. Suddenly Ben wanted to run or attack. How could the other man know so much? He began to worry that he was being manipulated yet again. But when Wedge reached out a hand to lay on his shoulder, all he felt was the concern that was overwhelming the general.

"Calm down, Benny," the general whispered, using the nickname he and Tycho Celchu had dubbed the boy with when Ben had been young enough to play 'hide yourself' among the fighters. "You have the same type of burns Luke had when he came back to Endor." Wedge shook his head. "Given your strength, I assume you didn't burn yourself with the Force. Did you fight Rey?"

"Not on Exogol. We fought together against her grandfather." Ben didn't know why he was revealing this to Antilles, but it felt comfortable to do so. Maybe it was because he should have been calling the man 'uncle'. Even Jedi Masters had moments of foolishness.

Just then, three fruits appeared at Ben's side. Rey had found the food. Wedge blinked as he spotted them, then shrugged. "I trust that old dragon is really dead this time?" he half inquired as he pointed to Ben's neck. The general had obviously been told who made the marks on Luke's neck. It wasn't too far a leap to assume he made Ben's as well, even though most people assumed the Emperor had died above Endor. Death and the Force had a rather loose connection. Wedge had been exposed to this fact while helping the Skywalker siblings, most often when Luke had talked to advisers that Wedge couldn't see.

Ben nodded as he let himself relax. "Accomplishing it nearly killed Rey, though."

"And you, by the looks of it," Wedge speculated as he took a sip out of his cup and savored the taste. "Drink the caf Rey just sent you. You need it."

Ben picked up the cup by his hip and drank the liquid down. It was a little weak, but it would still help him gather his strength.

Wedge nodded approvingly. Then he shifted over as Ben watched his uncle's blue tinged form join Wedge on the ship's wing.

The general didn't look at the specter of his former lover, but neither did he bump into him, even though he turned to finish his meal. Ben watched in amazement for a moment until Wedge asked, "Where are you going from here?"

Not wanting to put himself or Rey at risk, the younger man stayed silent.

Unperturbed, Wedge just nodded knowingly. "Watch out for sandpeople, and wipe down your lightsaber regularly, especially if you practice outside. How will you get there?"

"Not by X-Wing. This thing needs a major overhaul and it's not made for two."

"Do you want the yacht I modified for the battle? It's not much younger than the X-Wing but it hasn't been dunked in water for long periods of time. Tell your uncle that constant water pressure isn't good for thin hulls." Wedge chuckled as something guided him to look straight at Luke.

"He can hear you," Ben said with a smile. "He's right next to you."

The general seemed to relax at Ben's words and the hand that settled on his shoulder, the one that he couldn't feel. "The yacht has a beacon that you can use if you ever need to call me for help."

"Can I offer you an old waterlogged X-Wing in exchange?"

Wedge nodded. "The memories that come with it are worth ten yachts, at least. I'll keep the droids away from it until the yacht is gone."

"Except for the family droids, please. They need to come with us. We'll find a way to send them back after I keep a promise to my grandfather. See Threepio will probably need time to adjust to the things he forgot." Ben pulled the memory module out of his pocket and showed it to Wedge.

"Your grandfather?" Wedge let out a soft whistle. "Are you sure he needs to remember that?"

"It's the only way Grandfather knew how to thank him for staying with us through everything."

"That just proved the point I was making to Poe before I came out here," the general said with a smile. "Force users tend to find creative solutions to problems more often than most of us because they have an extra resource."

Ben nodded in agreement as he remembered how Rey had passed the lightsaber to him in the throne area on Exogol. "We do, at times. But don't discount normal ingenuity." Then, following a resource that Antilles most likely had, an instinct like his Dad's, he asked, "How did you know to come out here?"

"I knew Luke was celebrating too when Rey walked into the conference room. My caf suddenly started tasting like hot chocolate." Wedge laid his hand on his own shoulder, right over the blue tinged one that rested there.

Ben had never seen his uncle look so happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Glossary: 'Min gylif' is 'my life' in Olys Corellisi (or Old Corellian) -Source: Wookiepedia, based on the Star Wars Adventure Journals, Legends set


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is an experiment. Up to now, the only mechanical's 'head' I've tried to get into is Asimov's Daneel. Artoo is definitely trickier, because he doesn't speak Basic/English. So the only access we have to his thoughts is familiar tones and translations by Threepio. So feel free to comment on my interpretation.

Artoo Detoo watched as the two humans bickered about his fate.

"Take BeeBeeEight. He gets along with you better," the pilot-general was saying with a malfunctioning communicator. He had been drinking more alcohol than Artoo ever saw Master Luke drink, for certain. It was probably even more than Master Ani had, when he had been away from Coruscant.

"I need Artoo, and Threepio. It's important. I'll send them back when I can. I'll trade you for BeeBeeEight then if that's what he wants," Mistress Rey returned with a look that his companion had told him was exasperation long ago. Artoo noted that the pilot-general agreed as soon as Mistress Rey came over to where Artoo was standing in the corner keeping one of the tables from wobbling too much. The droid wondered if Mistress Rey had changed the pilot's programming.

Artoo's job was to keep track of and repair the machines, not the beings. But he knew to watch those who used The Illogical closely, because he could end up in the air with no warning, as Master Luke had done to him occasionally. Mistress Rey had been trained by Master Luke. She could do things that made no sense to a droid, like changing a being's programming or making objects (or droids) lose gravity. Therefore, it was best to keep his viewer on her.

Artoo did not mind being a tool for those who were programmed with The Good Illogical. Even though he could not use any of his sensory apparatus to see or touch it, he knew it would do him no harm. The Bad Illogical was frightening, however. Those who used it could disassemble droids in micro-times, and not even worry about the resulting damage. He knew it was also responsible for disassembling Master Ani from the inside in the time before the rebellion, although Kenobi had done the actual cutting. He had seen Master Ani and Kenobi use their light sticks, and it wasn't for practice. Beings were not supposed to be disassembled during practice. They took too long to reassemble, unlike droids. And the reassembling always involved mechanical limbs.

Artoo knew that faulty programming could destroy. The Bad Illogical was definitely that kind of programming. He whined a little as he saw scorch marks on Mistress Rey like the ones Master Luke had had when he fought the programming above Endor.

He didn't know if Mistress Rey had fought the Black Cyborg (although Artoo believed that one had been disassembled, something that bothered him. He had told no being or droid that fact.) or the Bad Child, but either possibility worried him. He hoped she had defeated them. Because he did not want to be disloyal, but he would not obey faulty programming. 

Only the Wookiee knew that Artoo had deduced who the Black Cyborg and the Bad Child were. And that they both had been Family. Master Ani had been reassembled into the Black Cyborg. Master Ben had been reprogrammed to be the Bad Child. The Wookiee had not told any of the other beings about his knowledge. The Wookiee had understood that the knowledge was difficult but necessary to the droid's decision making.

Artoo knew he was to obey Family above everyone else. That's why he would go with Mistress Rey no matter what the pilot-general decided. Master Luke had given her his ship. Therefore, she was Family.

But that did not mean he would obey those programmed with The Bad Illogical, even if they were Family. His ethics programs balked at the very idea.

Artoo followed Mistress Rey back to Master Luke's ship. He ignored See Threepio's whining the whole time. Threepio always whined more right after his memory was restored. There was no point to arguing with him until he was finished processing.

But when they turned a corner to move near the ship's cockpit, Artoo let out a frightened squeal. He knew he was in danger, and so was See Threepio and Mistress Rey. So he decided to defend them. As he neared the form sitting on the docking bay floor, he readied his electro-shock prod and zapped the form with all the power he could direct to it.

But the being on the ground did not attack. The Bad Child only let out a grunt as water fell out of his viewers.

\----

It took a moment for Rey to realize what was happening. Because Ben had done his best to keep their bond open the whole time she was gone, for a moment, all that registered was his physical pain.

Then his anguish took hold, overwhelming the bond. He understood what Artoo had attempted to do. The droid believed that Ben could not be trusted, so he had defended Rey and Threepio. These two droids had helped raise Ben, and he had disappointed them. He had lost the trust of the two he had learned acceptance from.

They did not make distinctions by species or politics or beliefs. But apparently, now Artoo objected to Ben, because of what he had done when he had Turned.

Rey could hear a flustered Threepio try to yell at Artoo for being so rude. That wouldn't help. Rey agreed with Ben's assessment. That somehow Artoo knew about the Dark Side, and knew that Ben had been part of it.

She appreciated the droid's defense, but it had to stop, right now. Because Ben had done nothing to shield himself from Artoo's attack. Laying down to let someone execute you was no better than laying down to die, as she was sure he had almost done on Exogol.

So she put her hand over Artoo's shock prod and simply said, "I trust him."

Artoo immediately stopped. He turned his single eye to watch Rey but didn't do anything else except let out a mournful tone.

Rey knelt down next to Ben as the droids looked on. She gently wiped away his tears. Then she pulled him into her arms. She didn't know what she could give him other than her acceptance of all of what he was, Dark and Light. But she gave it gladly.

For weren't they all one step from the Dark Side? Frustrations, pain, worry could drive you to do awful things. Plus, to have such an awful man as her grandfather coaxing you to to do the wrong thing...Rey could see how easy it would be to fall.

They needed to talk about his Darkness, and soon. Ben's nightmares had made clear that he was still struggling with it. But he needed to be safe first. And he needed to give back in some way because of what he had done. Ben hadn't told her details, but she knew that the reason the droids were going with them to Tatooine was so that he could repay them.

Most beings would object to Ben's choice to start his journey back to the Light with the droids. But Rey understood. They were accepting. They would not judge. He needed to feel like he reconnected with someone. They would oblige him with little fuss. If they decided to take the journey. 

The fighters, rebels, friends of his family wouldn't be as simple. They would demand more of him before they accepted, if they accepted at all. 

The dyad stayed there for a few moments, just wrapped around each other. Oddly enough, something about this also caused Ben discomfort. But when she tried to reach for that feeling inside him, he pulled the thought away from her. "Not now," he whispered.

"Then can I interrupt your conversation?" A voice asked from behind Rey.

Ben looked up calmly, so Rey turned to face whoever it was. She smiled when she saw the general. Leia had trusted this man's advice, even as her son Turned and her relationship with Han fell apart. It had made going back to the fight easier. Wedge had known what she was dealing with. Her son trusted him because Wedge knew that coming back from the Dark Side was possible. Wedge had accepted that Ben had made it back to the Light.

"I moved my yacht to the south end of the bay. You should be able to get to it without anyone seeing you. That should save you some energy," the grey haired man said, nodding at Ben. "Don't use too much Force, or the new general might catch you. Poe says he can feel the Force."

Ben swallowed hard at that. "I know. Many of the Stormtroopers were Force sensitive."

Wedge looked puzzled at the younger man's statement. Then Ben muttered, "It kept them contained."

"So you didn't lose all your Dad's strategic skill when you Turned," the general said as he and Rey helped Ben to his feet. "If you did, I was going to find a way to follow you so you didn't put too much strain on the new Jedi Master." He waved his hand at Rey.

"I would be a lousy aide if I strained her at the beginning." Ben sighed as he stretched his legs cautiously. Then he met Wedge' eyes. "I'm not ready to face Dad yet, but he's inside me somewhere."

"Just remember that Han is not good at being patient." The general looped an arm around Ben's neck for a second, then let the younger man straighten to his full height. "Your past may be awful, but you can still make me proud of what you become from this moment forward."

That acceptance of the past brought a smile to the younger man's face, along with some hope. "I'll do my best, Uncle Wedge."

Rey watched as the general chuckled at the same time a tear ran down his cheek. A moment later, he shoo'ed them in the direction of the ship Ben had traded for.

Ben then told the droids that he had been told to help them reconcile their past, and he hoped to prove to them he was worthy of their trust in the future. He assured them that they were both free to return to the partying rebels, but he had to leave.

They both agreed to take the journey with him, even though Threepio appeared rather confused.

So they headed to the yacht. Artoo trailed behind for a moment. Rey saw that Wedge whispered to the short droid quickly. Then Artoo let out a soft set of beeps and hurried to catch up. He stayed at the side of Ben's injured leg for the rest of their short walk. Between Ben and the door that led to the conference rooms. As if guarding him.


	5. Chapter 5

Once the yacht was clear of the fleet, Rey set the ship's course to the Endor system and put it into hyperspace. Then she went into the small bedroom to see to her other half, who was dealing with the injuries he received on Exogol.

She stood in the doorway of the bedroom for a moment to watch the remaining members of the Skywalker/Solo family. The two droids were standing in front of bed. Like in the docking bay, they appeared rather protective of Ben, as Rey believed one might be if one had done much to raise the being that was injured.

Artoo had appointed himself medic. He was whistling at Ben as the Force user applied bacta patches to his twisted and scraped leg. Threepio added commentary, mostly worrying about lingering effects of the injury, but appeared content to let Artoo handle the instructing. Which he did, each time the man applied another patch. Ben glanced at the datapad at his side as Artoo let out another shrill whistle.

"I know there aren't any tanks on this yacht. I don't need a tank for a sprained knee," Ben said as softly and as patiently as he could. Artoo's tone sounded similar to Threepio's when he panicked.

Ben sighed. Although his physical injuries needed attention, his leg wasn't the real problem here. His continued existence as both Dark and Light was. The astromech had no instructions on fixing that, so Ben focused back on his knee. And on calming the small droid. "Luke had hypothermia when they put him in a tank. I'm not that injured."

Rey could feel the frustration that circled in Ben. It was left over, in part, from the beliefs and whispers that had made him Kylo Ren. She didn't have any idea where the rest of it came from. But she became suspicious of a few things in his past when he suddenly snapped at one of the astromech's loud beeps, "I'm not three anymore. You don't have to keep me distracted. I'm not about to start crying for Mom."

Rey put a hand on Artoo's dome as he let out a shorter, softer beep. When she was younger, she had believed that all families easily resolved their differences if they stayed together. That didn't seem to be the case with the family in front of her, so she quickly intervened to calm the situation. She softly reminded her other half, "Ben, you're scraped up and still weak. You probably look like Luke did when he needed the tank. Artoo's just worried."

Ben took a deep breath and met her eyes with his own. "I-I'm trying to remember that. It's not easy. Artoo and Threepio were tangled up in the problems I had before I Turned."

That didn't surprise Rey, given what she just heard. But that didn't mean he should lash out at them. "Is any of it their fault?"

Ben shook his head. "They were just trying to help me. They were the least responsible of all of us for my mess."

Rey sat next to Ben and helped him with the bacta patches as the astromech watched. Threepio was oddly quiet for once. In fact, he was staring at the little box Ben had carried back from Exogol, which was now sitting on the bed.

Artoo must have been disturbed by the quiet, because he looked up at Threepio, then followed his gaze. When Artoo saw the box, he let out an string of tones.

Ben looked at the datapad by his side. Then he said very quietly, "Yes, I know exactly what it is. Ani gave it to me."

That made Rey look over at the box as well. She could tell that it was a droid part. But something about it worried her. "That thing looks ancient."

"It is. I think it was old when he used it," Ben said with a nod, but didn't elaborate further. A moment later, Artoo spun his head around as if looking for something or someone.

The dark-haired man reached out to Artoo's shoulder, not sure how to calm the droid. "He's not here, Artoo. He's...part of the Force now."

Artoo let out another string of tones. But this time when Ben looked at the datapad, he sighed. "I don't know, Artoo. I don't know why I'm illogical. Or why Grandfather is illogical. But trust me, he's gone. He can't hurt anyone."

"Ani is Anakin?" Rey asked. She had suspected the moment Ben said the nickname, but hadn't wanted to disturb his attempt to calm the droid just to satisfy her curiosity.

Ben nodded. "He dragged me through the Force to Coruscant the moment I decided to...leave when we were on Exogol."

Rey froze for a moment. Then she exclaimed, "I knew it! I saw you fade for a moment after we...but why did you want to?"

"You don't need all the trouble I'm going to cause for you," her other half said bowing his head so he was staring at his injured knee. He still believed that, even though his grandfather had insisted he stay with Rey.

Rey carefully laid a hand on his hair. A moment later, he turned his head so their eyes met. "Having you here with me will help with that. Because there are some who will be able to see what we are to each other, whether you are here or in the Force. I want you with me, for many reasons. One of them is to help me fight the anger I know I will feel when they insult you in ignorance. I know it won't be easy for us to be the dyad the Force wants us to be, but I think it'll be worth it."

Ben's face took on a disbelieving expression, but then he shrugged. "Remember that I did warn you, when you find yourself wanting to push me away."

For a moment, Rey saw Han's face in front of her, not Ben's. She sighed. Her other half was right, the threads of his life were tangled, because of her grandfather, and because none of Ben's family really trusted themselves.

Those threads would take time to unravel. For now, he needed reassurance that he wouldn't be abandoned as they both had been in the past. So Rey leaned in for a kiss, which Ben accepted as the gift it was. But then he pulled back and picked up the droid module.

His hesitation at her touch was back. Rey wondered at it. But she supposed that his worry about causing trouble for her would also cause him to worry about getting too close, even if they were closer in mind than they were in body most of the time.

Endor was a four day trip. She could ask him about it later. The droids came first at this moment.

Ben must have heard her through the bond, because he nodded at her before holding up the module and turning to Threepio. "Your creator wanted you to have this. He wanted to thank you."

"Thank me? Thank me for what?" Threepio cocked his head questioningly.

"For taking care of his family." Ben said softly. "You were there for us and those we hold dear no matter what happened. What is in this module will be hard for you. But you should have it. It's part of you. It shouldn't have been taken away without your permission. I'll do whatever you wish with it. I think he wanted you to remember something, but it is your choice."

The protocol droid was silent as he processed Ben's words. Then he asked, "Who was my creator?" 

"My grandfather, Anakin Skywalker." Ben knew that Threepio understood the basic connection between Anakin and the Empire, that he had led it as Darth Vader. But he was not aware of the droid ever wanting to know more about that connection, even though he had been with the man's children and grandson. Ben believed his words might change that.

The golden droid nodded his head. "That is difficult to process. I will need some time to decide what to do with it." 

Just then, Artoo let out a beep as he projected a holo in front of him. It was of a young blond boy, most likely under the age of ten, in what was typically a desert tunic.

He looked a lot like Ben's uncle, but not exactly. Ben had never seen any holos of Luke as a child, nor knew any reason Artoo would have them. But for all he knew, Artoo could have 'grown up' with Anakin.

"He was that young when you knew him? Did he make Threepio by then?" Ben looked into Artoo's eye. Artoo beeped an affirmative. Ben let out an ironic laugh. "That would explain a few things..."

"What would it explain?" Rey asked curiously.

Ben closed his eyes as he remembered, but before he spoke, he reached for Rey's hand. She wrapped it around his comfortingly as told her, "Why Vader's voice in the Dark Side complained about my lack of skills. I was *sure* he wasn't talking about my use of the Force. He said that I shouldn't have let others build my personal ship."

"Maybe you shouldn't have. That ship did have a few flaws." Rey smiled as she remembered taking off his ship's wing with only her lightsaber. She breathed an internal sigh of relief when he opened his eyes and smiled back.

"I want you to teach me how you did that," Ben said as his memory of it settled between them. He had been astonished, and yet secretly proud of her. Like his grandfather, he had never completely committed to the Dark Side. That may have even been why Vader had been derisive of Ben's mechanical skills. It may have been a way to remind Kylo Ren of his other life.

That idea was useful, and worth thinking about later. Rey knew she had to pay attention to where those cracks in the anger and frustration had been as he revealed them. Those gaps would help them both reconcile the two sides of Ben.

The mental and physical healing might start with the journey they were on at the moment, but Rey knew it was no time for stretching his limits, of any type. "I'll show you after your knee heals. As it is, I'm not sure you'll be safe using your leg on Kel Bir."

Ben frowned but conceded that the watery moon might be difficult for him to maneuver on with the injured knee. He wasn't normally one to stay behind, however, especially when there were so many unknowns on that satellite. So he asked her the same question he had posed when she said that she needed to stop there. "What do you want from that place?"

Rey had deflected his question earlier. She had wanted him to have some time to handle his immediate concerns before she dropped her feelings about the future on him. This moment, however, was better. They were calm, so she hoped he would attempt to understand. "I need your lightsaber."

Rey could feel his confusion, but behind that, worry consumed him, not anger. He worried that the wildness and despair that seemed to be part of the moon would harm her. Or that the object she wished to retrieve might. "Kylo Ren's lightsaber," Ben shook his head. "Why do you want it? It's not going to be easy to find. I have no idea where it landed."

His other half would not be dissuaded, however. She needed that piece of his past to help her guide the future. "Balancing the Force, and your recovery, need to start somewhere. I want us to make new lightsabers out of the old ones."

Ben nodded. It made sense, especially since he knew that Luke's attempt to restart the traditional Jedi ways had been disastrous. He didn't know how to achieve balance without using the two extremes of Light and Dark, but he sensed that Rey at least knew where to start. So he would trust his other half to guide him. "Maybe it will help me make sense of the jumbled...everything...I feel inside."

"Do you want me to help you with some of it now?" Rey asked quietly.

"How?" Ben asked hesitantly. 

Rey squeezed his hand to reassure him. "We'll figure that out together."

Ben gave her a grateful look, so she guided the droids out of the bedroom and into the living area. She helped Artoo plug into the ship to recharge, then set up the ship's computer so Threepio could access whatever it had on the Jedi of the Old Republic, in case he wanted more knowledge before he made his decision. She left the memory module on the table near him.

Then she went back into the bedroom.

Ben was sitting on the bed, in the same way she had left him. But now he had his eyes closed. He was trying to meditate. A small touch to their bond showed her that he wasn't having much success. 

She knew why. He was now afraid of the very thoughts and memories that he needed to sort out. He worried that thinking about them would restart his anger. It wouldn't be easy to convince him otherwise.

As she sat on the bed next to him to gather her own thoughts, the air in front of her began to take on a blue cast and a strong Force presence. Reaching into the Force, Rey queried the form, wondering which of those who now influenced her wanted to help, but was hesitant to do so. A moment later, as she felt a recoil from memories similar to Ben's, she knew. "Thank you, Anakin. Or is it Ani?" she asked as she opened her eyes.

The apparition smiled. "Ani is what my mom called me. Artoo met me when I was still living with her. Most others called me Anakin." The elder Skywalker looked towards Ben as the younger man straightened. "You have to face your past to be with Rey. I have to face mine to find Padme, and hopefully help the twins find your dad. Do you want to try it together?"

Ben shrugged with a smile reminiscent of the man who had hated and loved equally between them. "It's worth a shot."

Rey laughed as Anakin rolled his eyes at his grandson. Then they all settled on the bed to prepare to face the past.


	6. Chapter 6

Both of the men on the bed in front of Rey knew that calming their Dark sides was essential, but would be difficult. In Anakin's case, the Jedi Council had given him up for lost the moment he had Turned. He then abandoned the physical plane when he returned to the Light. Not only because his health had suffered due to Palpatine's damage to his life support systems, but also because he had had no way to start his mental recovery.

Luke, of course, had known better than to repeat the Jedi Council's mistake with Ben. But he had been unable to reach his nephew. He had been unable to convince Ben that there was reason to reach for the Light, despite his anger.

Ben's anger still remained. Rey could see it, in muted form. It made him jumpy and frightened of his own reactions. He didn't want to Turn again, but he wasn't sure how to prevent it.

Anger still lurked in both of them, actually, ready to explode again at any time. As part of the Force, Anakin wouldn't Turn again (although part of him was in the Dark Side), but his anger would most likely delay his search for his wife and Han. Ben was more dangerous. He needed to stay in control to be with Rey and help her create a new group of more stable Force users. But it couldn't be done the way the Old Republic Jedi Council and his uncle had tried. For a being like Ben, whose world had consistently been made up of both Light and Dark, balancing the forces inside him was more likely to keep him grounded than yanking him into the Light.

Neither man knew how to accomplish the balance they sought. But they trusted Rey when she said she would help. The texts Luke had sneakily given her had suggested some ideas. After a few moments of reflecting on what she had read, Rey decided that the best way to start was to give them both one focus. Better yet, an example.

Rey started by referring to the woman both of them had loved and for a time, hated. It had been Leia who had shown her that balance in the Force was more than Light and Dark pulling at the galaxy from two ends. Leia had admitted that her position as head of the Alliance had her facing the Darkness constantly. The Dark resided in her difficult feelings and decisions. It had pulled at her when nobody helped their small band during the worrisome time after Luke's departure from the physical plane. It had dogged her when she tried to decide what to do with people who were both problematic and useful. It had almost crushed her when she admitted to herself that she could be a steadfast leader, but a neglectful mother.

Leia had realized that although she was good at rallying idealism in her troops, she was bad at the day to day security and love her boy needed. Han had barely understood what those concepts were. His own childhood had been so fractured and lonely that he had basically raised himself. So when Ben Turned, the woman loved by so many had ended up being hated by her own child for not being enough of a parent. His pain and anger directed at her were justified in their content if not in their extremity. To make matters worse, if she had listened to Ben, she might have realized he was being influenced by another. But her politics had been more important than her son.

Darkness and Light had balanced in her that day, painfully. But it helped her know Ben's pain, and helped her call him back towards Rey. She had used what she knew of the Darkness inside him to make herself be heard above all the voices Palpatine had put in his head.

Rey had realized this during Ben's nightmares. She had felt Leia's presence, and her empathy for Ben's struggle, when he had dreamed of his mother.

Leia's search for balance gave their struggles reason to exist. In Ben, the idea went further. It shook his anger off its foundation. Ben was astonished to realize that his mother had tried to know him, even as she fought him.

"Then you made the mistake of not trying to understand your enemy," Anakin said after Ben shared this. "It doesn't surprise me that Leia was the better warrior against you and the Dark consuming you. Luke could teach you plenty about fighting with a saber, but he wasn't a strategist. He was frightened of touching the Dark to see what it was like. Leia could do that, but because her head was wrapped around politics, she didn't know what Darkness looked like in you until it took over."

"Luke did realize that he needed to not let his fears overtake him. I don't like his method of handling that, however. Running away left Leia on her own and you stewing in the mire Sidious created for you. But it kept him from making matters worse. I drowned in my fears, for their safety and for your grandmother's. Obi-Wan told me she died crying my name, exactly what I didn't want to happen."

"The Jedi Council was afraid to touch the Dark that was building around them, weren't they?" Rey asked. "They didn't even do as much as Luke did to fight it."

Anakin nodded. "And Obi-Wan had very little guidance from them, so he didn't know how to draw me back."

At that moment, Ben remembered the details of the calm dream in the midst of his nightmares. "Mom accepted I was angry. That's how she helped Rey guide me back."

Anakin nodded. "As Luke accepted me with all my flaws. That acceptance drew Anakin back out of Vader. Your acceptance, both of yours, feels calming. Which will be helpful if I have to deal with your father. He doesn't know how not to hate me, so I will need all the calm I can find."

Rey touched her bond with Ben and found that worry circled within him now instead of frustration. She knew where it came from. So she smiled. "Of course I accept all of you." She held out her hand, much as he had to call her to the Dark not long ago.

Ben laid his hand in hers. ""It will take time for me to accept *that*. I could have hurt you without remorse many times. That alone makes me believe you shouldn't trust me."

"But you also fought with me against my grandfather, and saved my life." She closed her eyes for a moment to concentrate on their connection. "And you love me, even though it scares you."

When she opened her eyes, Ben expression turned wry, reminding her once again of Han. But he did not try to hide or laugh her revelation off. He just nodded.

Then he presented a revelation of his own. "You feel the same. But you are scared for me, because you're afraid you'll do the wrong thing by mistake."

"We're still learning about each other, so it wouldn't be hard to do," she whispered as she squeezed his hand.

"Then I should learn to listen, and tell you about myself, like Grandfather suggested," Ben whispered back. "I have been awful at listening to my family. I don't want to make that mistake again, now that you're part of it."

Rey looked over to the apparition of the man who had started the mistakes that had accumulated in Ben. But Anakin was staring at the open door, where his daughter stood next to a blue tinged shadow. Leia had her arms crossed as she looked from her father to her son. Then her eyes met Rey's and she smiled.

Anakin's eyes shined with tears as he got off the bed to touch the shadow. As he did, it became a full apparition for one moment. A dark haired young woman who looked like Leia, right down to the strength in her eyes. There was no mistaking that they were related. 

"Padme," Anakin whispered as the apparition reverted to a shadow. Rey wondered if Ben's grandmother would leave, as Anakin feared. But she supposed that Padme had found a way to accept as well, because the shadow moved to lean against Anakin's side.

Then Leia spoke. "We haven't found Han yet. Mother was curious about us, so she was easy to find when you were here helping Ben. But Han...We've all inflicted wounds on him, on top of the ones he caused himself. He's probably trying to avoid more pain."

For a moment, it was as if only Rey had heard the general speak.

Her father only had eyes for his wife. "I know I have a lot to explain to you," Anakin whispered to the shadow. "I promise to stop my own hiding. If you want to know everything, well, you're entitled to it after what I put you through." 

But her son cautiously responded. Ben started to move toward his mother as Anakin talked, but his grandfather put up a hand to stop him before turning to Leia. "Once I give Padme what I owe her, I'll help you find Solo. I owe you that, and a lot more."

Leia accepted Anakin's help, then walked over to Ben to lay a kiss on his forehead. "Can you forgive me?" she asked softly.

Ben nodded as he let his tears fall.

"I never stopped loving you." Leia's voice broke minutely as she ran a hand over Ben's hair. "Neither did your Dad."

"I know. He died showing me, but I wasn't ready to see it." Ben's hand shook in Rey's, but he didn't move from between the two women who sacrificed to give him a second chance.

"Now that you are, do a better job at it than we did." Leia laid a hand on Rey's shoulder for a moment before she faded away from the physical plane.

"The best way to do that may be by showing Ben how *not* to meditate," Anakin added cryptically before he and his wife also faded away.

Rey looked to Ben for an explanation. Ben bowed his head a little, his hair hiding his expression. "There is one way the Light and Dark Force users have been the same up to this point. Neither side encouraged relationships. And physicality...well, Luke always had me meditate those feelings away, most likely because he was trying to stay away from Antilles. Snoke had me do the same thing, to have some control over our connection."

Ben cradled her hand in both of his as he met her eyes. "And I didn't want my Darkness to hurt you, so I kept doing it after Snoke was gone. Now I realize your grandfather didn't want us to be closer either. He kept us separated because he was afraid of what you could teach me."

Rey smiled as she leaned in so their foreheads touched. "Then the first thing I plan to teach you is how not to meditate."

"Can I start my lesson now?" 

Rey shifted so she could answer with a soft, "Yes."

A moment later, Ben's lips met hers.


	7. Chapter 7

Looking into Ben's eyes, Rey realized why her grandfather had kept Ben from having sex, especially with her. Their connection was strong. Joining their physical beings would probably make it stronger. Because they would know more about each other, and could use that to 'extend' themselves, in the way Ben had been musing about during the ride in the X-Wing.

Her focus on that idea and on her other half's face echoed with his thoughts in their bond. Ben wanted to know her. He wanted to feel the give and take between them that they both knew was possible. The battle with her grandfather on Exogol allowed their bond to hint at something overwhelmingly affirming for both of them if they allowed it to take them over for a time. There was nothing Dark about it, not at all. It was simply about sharing themselves. Rey shared of herself so effortlessly, at least with him. The Dark would have probably lost its hold on Ben if he had been allowed to physically join with Rey while she was in the Light. The Dark wouldn't have survived the giving.

Rey knew that their joining would help with Ben's balance. Because it was about give and take, for both of them. She would use the bond as she believed the Force intended. To let them give to each other what they had not had before: contentment, solace, and pleasure. Rey wondered about the pleasure. She thought for a moment, considering what she had seen and heard of those on the Dark Side. The man whose genetics she shared was a hard task master. Nobody avoided having pressure put on them under his rule. It had seemed rather lacking in pleasure, even for Darth Vader and Kylo Ren.

"It was," Ben said as he ran a thumb over her cheek gently. "I rarely had a break from anything. Time to think without the voices pounding at me to stay angry wasn't allowed."

"Then it's time you had that break," Rey whispered and shut the door to the bedroom with the Force. Then her hands found their way into his hair.

As she ran her fingers through the soft dark waves, she considered the unexpected role the Force had given her, in respect to him. She was now his guide, in finding balance, and in this. She took a deep breath as she considered their path. The first thing she needed to guide was his thoughts. She could feel that he was afraid to move or touch her more than he was at the moment. So she asked why, as he seemed to be hiding something from her.

After a few moments of lightly caressing her face, Ben told her, "Some of the voices made suggestions about what to do with you when you Turned. They weren't at all pleasant."

"Did you like anything about them?" Rey was genuinely curious. She was willing to learn about his preferences, no matter what they were.

Ben shook his head slightly. "Most of the ideas ended with you injured and cowering. You are *my* other half. I won't allow you to be hurt." There was an echo of Darkness in his tone.

Rey pulled Ben closer. His possessiveness was not unwarranted, but it was best if it was shared. "And you are mine. I won't allow their ideas to hurt you either. I won't let them make you frightened of yourself. You can ask for anything. I may refuse it, but I won't judge you for asking."

"Then can I let down your hair?" he asked as he pulled off his shirt, then laid down. 

Rey smiled as she shrugged out of her tunic. "Yes. And I want to help you finish undressing, when you're ready." She laid down next to Ben. Her eyes closed as she focused on the pleasure of her breasts sliding along his chest. Then she opened them to see Ben shiver minutely as that simple feeling echoed between them. It made Rey feel content. The only voices Ben would be hearing at this time would be hers and his own. So she would help him to keep his voice from reflecting on his injuries. "I don't want pain interfering with us learning about each other."

A moment later, Ben's large hand deftly loosened her hair buns and combed through her tresses. She hummed softly as he soothed her scalp then let his hands wander down her neck and shoulders. He seemed to find pleasure in tracing her form and learning about the being he shared his existence with. So Rey shifted as his hands moved lower, letting him feel her breasts and abdomen. 

His eyes met hers, with an expression that was softer than she had ever seen from him. It made her shiver, just a bit, like when she had felt the soft patter of rain on Ahch-To right after a saber workout. The feeling was certainly welcome. But it also touched something primal in her, something that kindled a possessiveness similar to his.

That idea confused her momentarily. Sex had never been about possession for her before. It had been for fun, maybe also for a little manipulation or favor. It had never been about any deep feelings. But at this moment, feelings abounded. Possessiveness, love, and worry about teaching him this warred for attention within her.

The worry made Ben laugh softly. "I do know the basics. In theory, at least." To prove his point, he shifted them so she settled on top of him, then kissed her. The kiss was languid and searching. He wanted her emotions along with the physical. She wanted to give, and receive in return. But she wasn't sure if he'd be comfortable letting her guide them.

"I trust you," Ben said simply before he kissed her again.

So she finished undressing them both. She then knelt so she could see her other half as the Force had intended.

Ben was amused by her comparison of his form to others she had been with. She found him better than most. He declared her biased. He had always considered himself too broad to be attractive to other humans.

"Your body attracts me," Rey whispered as she traced the muscles in his legs. "It doesn't matter what others think."

Ben coaxed her back onto his chest. He ran his hand over her back as he absorbed the feel of her. "You are attractive to many. But they don't know all the reasons you are that way. I will."

Rey hummed contentedly in reply, before Ben's sliver of Dark possessiveness startled him. For she too would hold onto times like this as only for them. Up until now, the Jedi had to give up too much of themselves to serve the galaxy. It was time for that to stop.

"It's time for you to stop thinking," Ben groused a little.

Rey laughed. "Let's see if you can find a way to distract me."

Ben took the challenge as it was intended, as permission to explore. So he let his hands wander over her as she did the same with him. Soon, neither could think past the pleasure of the moment. Heat pressed against heat. Kisses soothed as they inflamed. And the bond echoed their moans and shudders, making it hard not to drown in pleasure before they were truly joined.

But then Ben eased Rey to straddle his hips. Their eyes met as he whispered one word. "Please."

Rey nodded. Then she slid back so she could guide him into her. The result was pleasurable, but far from mind-blowing. Until she guided his fingers into her folds. Until she began shifting on him counter to the rhythm of those fingers. Until their bond reverberated with the thoughts of how right this felt.

Their cries surrounded them until pleasure, and each other, was all they knew. The peak of their joining had them clinging to each other in ecstasy. Their slow return to the galaxy made them appreciate what the Force had given them. Ben found comfort that he hadn't expected. Rey had found sex without awkwardness. The bond between them made it easy for their minds to give now that their bodies rested. They just continued sharing until they fell asleep in each other's arms.

Outside their space, in the living area, Artoo Detoo checked the ship's course while he whistled contentedly. His Family was whole once again.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did say Ben was going to deal with family. Well, the definition of family is a bit loose, if you haven't already figured that out. Spoiler Alert for the comic set The Rise of Kylo Ren.

The rest of the trip to Kel Bir was calm on the surface. But only on the surface.

The facts of Ben's existence, including the primary one, that he was at the moment both Light and Dark, did not disappear. Nor did his anger, which showed itself more than even he wished. Not feeling in control had always been Ben's biggest weakness. He had been pulled along by his mother's politics and his uncle's beliefs about his future for so many years. So when Snoke came along and offered him choice, he leaped at the offer. It wasn't until Rey came to where he could see her that he began to realize that Snoke (and Palpatine behind him) had taken more of his control than his family ever would have.

Rey's ideas for the Jedi gave him hope of having choice that he could live with. But his past still haunted him. And it seemed to echo in all of them on the ship.

Threepio was quiet most of the time, but he watched Ben constantly. Ben gave him space and didn't say a word about it. He knew the protocol droid had a lot to consider. However, Rey wondered if Threepio was trying to figure out what Anakin had been like by watching and remembering his grandson's tendencies. If so, the observations just seemed to puzzle the droid more, if the way he cocked his head was any indication.

Artoo was cautious, staying close to Rey and Threepio most of the time. But at times, he would randomly roll over to Ben and project a holo of Anakin at various stages of life, of Padme at similar ages, or of Luke when he was a pilot and a commander. The astromech seemed to want to relate to Ben using the past before Ben's existence. Artoo even had one of Ben's parents kissing. On the moon Endor, the Force users suspected. Artoo whistled a confirmation. It had been a good moment for everyone. The droid seemed to hope the reminder would spark good moments for Rey and Ben, as he had looked back and forth between them when he showed the holo.

Rey had tried to encourage more conversations like the ones Artoo tried to spark, or for Ben to talk of his own past. She needed to help him dismantle his anger a bit more. She knew he had forgiven Leia, but there were more sources that he needed to confront. Han was one, of course. But there was at least one more circumstance or being that caused him anger. What it was, he wouldn't tell her. His silence was frustrating her.

She wanted to shake him to get him to tell her. But she had to hold her momentary sparks of anger away from him. He would most likely interpret them as signs of Darkness. He didn't need to worry about her, especially when he seemed to have difficulty with his own feelings.

Ben seemed rather self-conscious, especially when Artoo and Threepio backed away from him. The droids knew a good portion of the things he had done on the Dark Side. Neither mentioned them. But Rey could see that he worried about their opinion of him now. Rey was less worried. Neither droid hid fear well. They didn't look scared of him. They were simply adjusting to having him with them again.

The most worrisome part of their situation was that Ben was frightened of himself. The nightmares were back. On the third day of their trip, they were so bad that Ben had pushed Rey away when she offered to help him or distract him. The push sent her into a wall. She had looked so startled that it scared him into thinking that he was Turning again. So he holed himself up in the small cockpit and wouldn't let Rey or the droids in. He even blocked the dyad bond in case his Darkness accidentally influenced Rey's thoughts.

Moments after they heard the lock engage, Rey sat on the floor outside the cockpit door as both droids settled next to her. They knew that Ben was trying to find his way without hurting anyone. But his inevitable pain echoed in them. So they stayed nearby for the chance to help him alleviate some of it.

\----

Ben stared out into hyperspace as he searched his mind. Was it starting over? Would he hurt Rey? Even the droids weren't safe if he Turned again. He tried to get a hold of the anger that the nightmares provoked and calm down. But he found it hard. Even without the voices Palpatine had forced into his head, the pull of his anger was strong. He was afraid to admit he needed Rey's help, however. To ask her would be risking her life again.

A moment after that thought, Ben heard a sigh come from the chair next to him. He automatically turned his head. Another ghost had apparently come to state their opinion of his life. This one, however, was the being he didn't want to talk to. "Go away," he growled.

The ginger-bearded ghost just looked back at Ben and muttered, "Well, now I know why he won't talk to me. The paranoia left over from the Dark seems like it's enough to space Yoda."

"I don't want you here. Go away," Ben snapped when the ghost showed no signs of moving.

The ghost just sighed again. "I'm not here to judge or hurt you. But you need to calm down. Your anger may get the best of you if you don't remember what saved you. You keep saying that you don't want it to start over. Well, you might want to reevaluate me so that it doesn't. The pettiness inside you that Palpatine fed on isn't worth reiterating." He shook his head. "Why do you hate my nickname so much? And why do you blame me for it being bestowed on you? I wasn't the one who named you. Your mother did."

"Mom wasn't thinking very clearly when she chose my name. She named me after an old, irrelevant failure," Ben turned his head and stared out in hyperspace again, waiting for his grandfather's master to leave.

"Yes, I lived long enough to turn grey. And I will admit that I was partially responsible for what happened to your grandfather. But using the word irrelevant is uncalled for, especially since you locked yourself in this area to deal with the same fears that haunted me for twenty years before my death." Obi-Wan stared into space himself, rather tiredly. "I only touched the Dark for a moment, to try to appeal to him. But it left me wondering at my own motives for the rest of my life. Even after death, I worried. Because he didn't seek me out after he joined the Force. I thought I had become vile. I didn't realize the Dark Side could have actually left him paranoid."

Ben turned back to the ghost. "If you're so worried about Grandfather, why are you here?"

Obi-Wan laughed bitterly. "Because I'm still cleaning up his problems after all these years. Luke told me that you and your other half needed support while the rest of them sought your father. So either Anakin made a mess of something while he was here or he didn't do enough for the two of you."

"*That* is why you're irrelevant," Ben snapped as he pointed a finger at the ghost. "You treated him as if he were inferior, didn't you? You waited until Luke came along to praise your student."

"Old habits..." Obi-Wan crossed his arms as if he were warding off something. "You're right. I should have done better with Anakin. In truth, he often overwhelmed me. He had issues that I had no idea how to deal with, like his memories of abuse as a slave. His mother had shielded him from the worst abuses, so I figured that he would just need time to get over the rest. But I should have helped him more. I suspect he hid his nightmares from me after a few years. And he shrugged off some of my criticisms. Because I was his only family in the Jedi Temple. Nobody else wanted to work with him because he was too old, too troubled, too strong...too odd."

Ben didn't seem convinced that Kenobi understood his complaint. "Putting him down didn't help him succeed. Why did he stay, if the one training him was that critical?"

"I wasn't always. Most of the time we got along fairly well. I became harsh when I worried about him." Obi-Wan ran a hand through his hair. "I didn't realize I was pushing him away a little each time I did so."

"What were the good times like?" Ben asked, curious in spite of himself.

"Exhilarating. Your grandfather was a wonderful friend. He was also sharp, funny, and an excellent problem solver. I truly believe his time on Tatooine provided him those quirks. But they came at a high price, and high risk as a Jedi. He was already troubled, so the death of his mother sent him spiraling out of control."

Ben stared at the Jedi Master as he thought about his own past. His parents had been neglectful, but not constantly. They both had tried to be around for him and to be proper parents. Ben remembered falling asleep on Han's shoulder many nights as a toddler as the man had paced outside Leia's constant meetings. The mechanical skills Ben did have were also due to Han. They had spent plenty of time tinkering with the Falcon before Luke had come to take Ben for training.

Time with Leia had been less frequent, but more precious because of that. The mornings Ben could help his mother braid her hair were treasures. The nights she told him stories of their adventures invited the most wonderful dreams.

Ben hid a moan of regret as he remembered. Obi-Wan heard it anyway. He laid a blue-tinged hand on Ben's arm. "We often forget those moments because they don't feel important when the pain comes. But they are worth the pain. We need to foster them, because there will be days when our situations fall apart. Those moments will give us hope. As they are doing for Rey right now. She is worried, but she hopes that she has given you enough guidance and love to get you through this panic or make you willing to ask for help."

Ben closed his eyes and peered into the bond. The moment he opened it, Rey reached out to him. She soothed him and reminded him that she would listen to him, no matter how Dark his thoughts were. Threepio was going to accept the memories, she said. He wanted Ben to oversee the transfer. Artoo needed a few minor repairs. He preferred Ben to handle them. 

Ben opened his eyes with a chuckle. "They're all trying to find ways to calm me. Yes, Rey is trying to get me to ask for help. The droids are offering themselves as something to distract me."

Obi-wan let out a sharp laugh. "Those two droids are more perceptive than many officially sentient beings. So much so that I believe the astromech knew I was deliberately being evasive to Luke when I told him I never owned droids like them."

"It wouldn't surprise me," Ben whispered, staring at Ob-Wan's countenance for the first time. The former Dark knight thought he looked weary. "I don't think I'm the only one in need of some help," he said cautiously.

Obi-Wan waved his hand to ward Ben off. "I'm fine. I just need something to do. So if you don't mind, I'll help the two of you find your lost weapon. Then I'll be on my way."

Ben shrugged. "It wouldn't hurt to have someone around who could warn Rey in case I lose control."

Obi-Wan scoffed. "She would most likely know before I did. But if it gives you some comfort, I promise to keep an eye on you."

Ben nodded. The reassurance made him feel calmer. So he got up from the pilot's seat and opened the cockpit door. The moment he did, Rey stood to pull him into her arms as the droids shuffled closer to them. Ben looked rather sheepish as he reassured them that none of them had done anything wrong. Rey then urged Ben to take one of the droids up on their offers of distraction.

He chose to handle Artoo's repairs. This wasn't the time to delve into Threepio's memories of the past.

Because there was now two ghosts aboard their ship, and the padawan and master were staring at each other as if neither knew how to even start to reconcile.


	9. Chapter 9

After an exhaustive search, the two humans finally found a relatively safe spot to land the yacht on Kel Bir. Luckily, it ended up being near where Ben had imagined talking to Han. But Ben and Rey were both still worried about the yacht. They didn't want it to get waterlogged, and they didn't want to risk the droids' safety. Neither Artoo nor Threepio would be able to go in search of the humans if something happened to the ship.

They weren't the only ones worried about the droids.

"Tell Artoo to *stay put*. He has a habit of finding himself in trouble, sometimes faster than the rest of us," Anakin snapped as the dyad made sure they both had communicators and blasters, as well as the Skywalkers' lightsabers.

"That droid is over sixty years old, Anakin, and has had more experience with odd situations than any other droid I've known. He can figure out when the terrain is too dangerous for him," Obi-Wan countered with a sigh as he appeared to lean against the cockpit door.

Anakin glared at his former master. "He's always wandering off and getting hurt! And Threepio's no better! He was in pieces when I went after them on Bespin!"

Obi-Wan shook his head and countered the other ghost. "Chewbacca is a more than adequate engineer. Your protocol droid suffered no permanent ill effects after encountering *your* troops."

The dyad shared a concerned glance as they watched the pair of apparitions argue. "I have a bad feeling about this," Ben muttered as he tested his knee carefully, then grabbed a datapad and went to crouch next to Artoo. He needed to talk to the astromech one-on-one. He believed that if he did so, instead of waiting for Threepio's translations, he could explain more. Artoo then might better understand why his safety was so important.

If the droids were safe, then his grandfather would worry less. That might help stop the argument happening in front of them.

For a moment, the Darkness inside Ben told him not to bother. They were just droids, after all.

He knew he was fooling himself the moment he thought it. These droids were not objects, as many beings viewed them. They were not acquaintances or workers. They were family.

The former Dark knight stared at his grandfather's worried face, then at Rey's. He thought about everything the droids had been through, everything Artoo knew. Artoo had good reason to drag Threepio to the nearest droid-friendly planet and take a very long vacation. But here he was, moments ago admonishing Ben to be careful on his leg, lest he end up with a mechanical one 'which are inefficient on beings.' There was Threepio lecturing Rey on how to deal with Jawas when they reached Tatooine.

Ben took a deep breath and accepted the thought that started the Darkness he felt at that moment: the two droids had sometimes made his life more difficult. But he had returned that issue a thousand times to them. They still genuinely cared for him, despite that. He cared for them just as much. Part of him had missed them while being Supreme Leader. Few people at the top of the First Order had sincerely wanted to aid him, as Artoo and Threepio always had. The First Order had been populated by people looking after their own interests.

Suddenly, his tumultuous feelings settled. 

Rey's affection and pride at his seeking balance in this small instance made it easier to go back to his task.

Looking Artoo in his eye, Ben said, "I set the computer so either of you can call for help if something goes wrong before we get back. So please stay inside. This world isn't made for land-based droids." Ben's concern, now that it felt sincere, was obvious to even Artoo. The small droid let a string of beeps as Ben watched the translation form on the datapad.

A chuckle escaped him as he realized how perceptive the astromech was. The droid knew there were more people in the ship than he could see at the moment. But since he couldn't see them, he couldn't identify them. "No, Luke isn't here. Ani and Obi-Wan are. Ani is concerned about you wandering off, like you did on Tatooine. Neither of us want you to be damaged. We want you to stay safe. I know you hate taking time for repairs when there's so much else to do. Once Threepio's memory transfer is finished, we can send you both back to Dameron so you can help with the rebuilding. You like flying. He'll do plenty of it."

Artoo let out such a long strong of beeps that Rey came over to see the exact translation. She needed to after Threepio exclaimed, "I agree!"

"We can talk about you staying with us longer after Threepio gets the rest of his memories back. He may change his mind," Rey said softly as she read the datapad. Ben also stared at it for a moment. Confused, he looked up at Rey to ask, "Why am I illogical? And how can that be both good and bad?"

"I don't know," Rey said as she laid a hand on Ben's shoulder. "Most droids are focused on their programmed functions. This is unusual. It sounds like he's stating some kind of philosophy."

"Jedi code, actually." Anakin came over to lay a hand on the astromech's dome. Artoo didn't acknowledge the ghost's presence, but he suddenly stopped shifting. "What's the most illogical idea in the galaxy, if you're a droid?"

Ben stared at the datapad again before laughing. "The Force. It can break every physical rule they know. And it's both good and bad." He turned back to the droids to address some of what Artoo just relayed to him. "I appreciate that you want to help me, but I worry that the ideas that fooled me last time will somehow do so again. I don't want you hurt because I'm weak."

Rey just leaned against a wall and smiled as Artoo proceeded to berate Ben. Leia had told her that Artoo had laid into Luke while he had been deciding what to do with his new student. It seemed that Luke had gotten a minor scolding. Artoo beeped long enough for Threepio to tell him to slow down three times before he stopped.

When the droid was done, Ben bowed his head. "I thought I knew better than all of you. I was too angry to see that you wanted to help. Ani had the same problem. We should have tried to listen. But both of us were being influenced by another." He looked up to the corner where his grandfather was staring at the droid, tears shining in his eyes. 

Anakin took a deep breath before going over to stare at Artoo's question addressed to him on Ben's datapad. "I had no idea you were watching us. The part of me that loved Padme and Obi-Wan wanted to die. That's why I didn't block Obi-Wan's saber. But the Dark part of me was stronger at that time. I'm sorry you saw that. The good part of me would never want you to worry about coming with my Dark self. I made sure to stop Ben from trying to sacrifice himself as well. He had let his Darkness go for the most part, unlike me. But I had to remind him why life was better than death. I'm glad both of you are here to help him live again."

Rey relayed Anakin's words to the droid. A moment later, Ben reached out a hand to Rey as he touched Artoo's dome. "I know I won't make it alone," he whispered to the droid as Rey grasped his hand. "So please stay inside until we get back. Having my weapon back will be hard. It'll probably be best to start making the new ones right away."

Artoo whistled his agreement. Happy with the outcome, Rey laid a kiss on the top of Ben's head. Threepio came over to Artoo's side and agreed to help in any way he could. Ben sighed with relief. He had started this in the right way at least. Now to find a way to keep his balance. Hopefully a new lightsaber would help.

Then he looked at the two ghosts once again glaring at each other. Maybe this search would help them as well.

\----

Ben gripped Rey's hand tightly as as they looked out into the grey morning light, searching for any sign of his weapon. Rey was sympathetic to Ben's reluctance to use the Force to guide him to it. At the moment, he didn't trust himself enough to know what side of it he'd be channeling.

So he pointed to the place he had talked to his Dad. They stood there quietly for a few moments. Then Ben shivered as he started talking about his thoughts at the time.

Suddenly, he choked on his words as he turned towards the ghosts on the edge of the water. His grandfather carefully avoided being near Obi-Wan. They were in conflict but nobody was hurt. If he had done that to his father, he would be able to talk to him now. Instead he had let his hatred of Han's mistakes as a father consume him. But how could Han have not made mistakes? He had never really had a father himself.

Rey wrapped an arm around Ben's waist as guilt threatened to bring him to his knees. "Not like that, Ben. You can't repay him by replacing hatred with guilt. He would understand making a clean start though." She glared at the two ghosts before looking her other half straight in the eye. "Throw it again, so I can follow it."

Ben went through the motions, trying to mimic the amount of momentum he had given his weapon when he discarded it. Anakin broke off his silent war with his former master to walk over the water and attempt to follow the path.

Rey watched as Anakin moved very close to the wreckage of the Death Star. At that point, he appeared to shiver.

Ghosts couldn't feel cold, but guilt was another matter. The dyad shared their worry for Anakin as he stood staring at the wreckage. They looked around, trying to find a way to get near him. A moment later, Obi-Wan came up to them and shook his head. "I'll take care of him," he said softly before following Anakin's trek over the water.

For a few moments, Ben learned about what Artoo had seen on Mustafar. He held Rey close as they watched the ghosts yell at each other in front of the wreckage. They couldn't hear the words, but tones carried over the water and through the Force. It was obvious that the two men were still angry at each other and still grieving for what they had lost.

Just as Ben put his right hand in his tunic pocket to warm it, he heard Obi-Wan shout, "You didn't kill me, Anakin! I chose to leave so that Luke had a chance. I couldn't teach him. Not after what I did to you! I failed you!"

"Failed me?! You made sure I had children!" Anakin's sob broke through the Force. "You had a hand in what saved me. Please don't tell me I Turned back for nothing. I want to spend eternity with my wife and my best friend! Not haunting that planet *he* sent me to, so I could keep reliving the worst mistake I ever made!"

The ghosts leaned toward each other as their regrets tore through them. Everything seemed to slow down for Ben as he watched Anakin fall into Obi-Wan's arms. Because at that moment, he cut his finger on the sharp edge of the object in his pocket. An object that hadn't been there when he had grabbed the tunic from the closet in the yacht's bedroom.

A shadow fell over him as he grasped the object---objects---and a loud clatter sounded at his feet. Suddenly, Ben realized that he had been given the same gift Anakin had. The anger inside him faded a bit more as he remembered his three year old self surrounded by warmth and the rasp of a voice that had no idea how to carry a tune.

"I forgive you, Ben," the shadow whispered as Ben clutched the dice in his pocket.

"I forgive you, Dad." Ben whispered back urgently, knowing his father needed the same reassurance that he craved. "And so does Mom. She's waiting for you."

A large hand touched Ben's cheek, making Han visible for one last moment. Han nodded to Rey. "Help him take the hard path. I want to see both of you when the path ends."

"You will." Rey smiled as she bent to pick up Kylo Ren's lightsaber and shake the water out of it.

A moment later, Ben pointed to Anakin as the two Jedi apparitions returned to land. "Let Grandfather take you home, Dad. You two might have a few things to talk about."

Han chuckled. "I know we do. Have you seen how your grandmother wears her hair?"

Ben's let out a mixture of laughter and tears. Finally, he let himself feel the love Han had given him. Yes, it had always seemed to be mixed with pain, but it was worth it. It would help him become what he needed to be.

He clutched Han's dice in his pocket again. And a bit of luck never hurt.

So he turned to hold Rey for a moment. Then they made their way back to the yacht so that they could head home.


	10. Chapter 10

The ship immediately left the Endor System and headed toward Tatooine. Ridding themselves of the sadness surrounding Kel Bir helped both Rey and Ben find a place of balance. They started with balancing their relationship, spending time exploring each other both in the physical and mental.

After resting, the dyad decided it was time to start finding balance within the Force. They reverently removed the blue kyber crystals from the twins' lightsabers. Then Rey allowed Ben to use Wedge's blaster (on narrow beam) to break the hilt of his lightsaber and retrieve the two red crystals.

The blaster somehow echoed the warmth his uncle showed him late nights after training. That warmth was so unlike the atmosphere during his training with Snoke. There had been no warmth there at all. Ben had considered that weakness when he turned Dark.

His existence had turned lonely at that point, and he had blamed his family for that. He should have blamed himself, or at least the circumstancs Snoke had put him in. As he stared at the broken saber, Ben realized how much frustration and anger Palpatine had set him up for, to keep him on the Dark Side. When he put the blaster down, he was shaking.

Rey wrapped an arm around Ben and eased him to the living room floor next to Artoo. "Take a moment to balance yourself," she whispered as she sent him soothing thoughts through the bond.

Ben nodded and took a few deep breaths. He thought about what it would take to create the lightsabers. They needed to imprint on the organic material within the crystals so they responded smoothly to the user, activating with a quick and steady blade. The crystals also aided in the swinging of the blade, channeling the Force for the user so the user could concentrate on other matters. The saber could even help people who weren't sensitive to the Force, like his Dad. Han had used Anakin's blade to save Luke's life. The crystal most likely sensed Han's intent and helped him split the Tauntaun cleanly and quickly to save Anakin's child.

It would not be easy to convert two Dark crystals back to the Light. He would have to resist the pull of his past. Ben dug deep inside himself to find the balance Rey had helped him with so that he was ready to do so.

When he was calmer, he suggested, "You should use the intact crystal. I'll figure out what to do with the cracked one. I don't really want to vent my saber again, but I may have to."

"We have to see if those crystals will accept the Light again first. That's not going to be an easy process." Rey sat facing Ben. "This might help us convince them." From under her sash, she pulled a curved strip of black plasteel. When Ben touched it, it reverberated with feelings of regret.

"What is it?" Ben asked.

"A piece of the ceiling to my meditation chamber." Anakin answered from behind Ben. He nodded to Rey as he sat down. "I can see what you're attempting. Do it carefully."

Obi-Wan appeared and knelt behind him. "We can warn them if things start to go wrong. We know the signs."

Anakin nodded. "Just please watch them closely. I have too many regrets. I might fail them."

"What makes you think I don't have regrets, Ani?" Obi-Wan said softly as he watched the dyad dismantle the Dark lightsaber. "I also have too many. Most are concerning you."

Anakin slowly leaned against Obi-Wan's shoulder as he had wanted to do those first couple days of his apprenticeship. He had been completely overwhelmed by the Jedi. But he hadn't turned to his master for comfort, which was something he now regretted. His master had seemed to want him to be strong from the very beginning. But trying to be strong had gotten him into so much trouble.

Obi-Wan rested his chin on Anakin's hair as the dyad began meditating with one crystal each. Ben took his mother's blue crystal, while Rey meditated over Kylo Ren's smaller red crystal. 

Rey could feel the two older Jedi finally release some of the pain between them. As they did, the crystal in her hands pulsed slightly. It was responding to them. The crystal's reversion to the light might be helped by that response. Without opening her eyes or speaking, she asked Ben why he had chosen the crystal in her hands.

Ben remembered confiscating both crystals. The cracked one he had stolen from his father. Han had received the crystal from a seller in the Nabooian system. He had gotten it as a gift from someone who knew an old Gungan. The crystal was meant for a Skywalker, Han had been told. Well, it ended up in a Skywalker's hand, just not the one Han intended. Ben had also been the one to crack the crystal. It had not responded well to his presence initially.

Rey's was from one of Coruscant's numerous black markets. The color had been a murky orange when he had taken it from the Neimoidian who had just finished a deal to sell it to a Twi'lek with delusions of using it to take over a shipping business.

He had thought of his grandfather when he had taken it. The Dark side of him, of course. But when he held it, it had felt like...politics, an elaborate headdress, a secret rendezvous, and oddly, brought forth images of flying fruit. His grandfather had touched that crystal. Ben had known that immediately.

Anakin shook himself a bit, then twisted to look up at his master. "Did my grandchild just tell us that one of the Naboo royal jewels is actually a kyber crystal?"

"It seems so." Obi-Wan chuckled.

"Why didn't I know that?" The former Sith's face took on a puzzled expression.

"You touched it when Jamilla was queen. So the impressions it exchanged with you were not as strong as they would have been when Padme was wearing it. Plus, from what he just said, it was after you and Padme spent some time together. You were most likely distracted."

Ben looked over at them and asked curiously, "Why did I see flying fruit?"

Anakin ducked his head and shrugged. Obi-Wan sighed. "He was probably showing off."

Rey looked between the three men. "Padme worried about you, Anakin. That's imbedded in the crystal too." She looked to Ben. "You tried to rid it of those impressions, didn't you?"

Ben nodded. "I had too many people worrying about me, for what seemed like stupid reasons."

Anakin patted Obi-Wan's shoulder before sitting next to his grandson. "What made you feel like you had to prove you were one of us?"

Obi-Wan sat next to Rey as he too directed Ben to think about what he did to Rey's crystal. "Why was any name other than Skywalker a problem for you?"

Ben closed his eyes and thought for a moment. "Because everyone seemed to want me to be someone else. Luke wanted me to be like you. Mom wanted me to be like her. A few people wanted me to be like Dad. If I had to be someone else, I wanted to choose who."

Rey grasped Ben's hand. She could see how being forced into an identity was just as bad as not really having one. "So you chose this crystal because it echoed the identity you chose for yourself."

Ben squeezed Rey's hand gently. "Yes."

"Then I'll let it see who you are now, and show it that you are a part of me." Rey closed her eyes and focused on their bond. Slowly, the orange-red crystal reverted to orange.

Ben sighed with relief and concentrated on the crystal in his hand. He appealed to it, showing it how he now understood his mother in ways he hadn't earlier. The crystal took its time, but then accepted him and warmed in his hand.

When he opened his eyes, Rey was leaning towards him. He kissed her as they held the crystals, letting the organic material feel the bond between them.

They pulled back in unison, mentally holding onto each other a moment longer. Then both of them picked up their second crystal.

Luke's crystal accepted Rey readily enough. She let out a laugh as it seemed to admonish her about accepting herself. It was a difficulty Luke had had many times, given all that he had been through. Perhaps that was why he had pushed too hard to get Ben to emulate Obi-Wan.

When Ben concentrated on the cracked crystal, tears came to his eyes. Without anger blinding him, he could now see why the crystal had cracked. It had previously belonged to a Corellian. Not just any Corellian, an Antilles, related to Wedge. That Jedi must have somehow seen the love between Anakin and Padme and had focused on that when they created their lightsaber. When Ben had pushed his hate upon it, it had resisted so much that it had cracked when reverting to Dark.

This time, he called to it. "I am Kylo Vadizo," he intoned, surprising Rey. Obi-Wan, however, nodded knowingly. Ben knew it responded to love well. He closed his eyes to concentrate on the interactions he had seen between Wedge and Luke first. This caused the crystal to hum faintly. Then he stared into Rey's eyes and thought of his growing love for her. 

The organic material began to seal the fissure in the crystal as Rey smiled. Then they watched as the crystal reverted to a slightly darker orange than Rey's formerly Dark crystal.

When they kissed this time, Ben's crystal literally sang a cheerful tone, making the dyad laugh as they pulled back.

Artoo whistled as he started cutting the strip of black plasteel from the Death Star. Ben showed Rey how to use the smaller strips to create a hilt. Rey followed along, then tore apart the remaining pieces of the Dark saber so that she could alternate the metals on her hilt. Ben carefully did the same, making sure that his hilt had the opposite placement to hers.

Artoo had helped Luke make his green blade, so he quickly cannibalized the electronics in the Dark blade, and with a few extra wires, was able to create two blade resonators with room for two crystals each. 

Ben struggled with the positioning of his crystals in the resonator. Somehow, it didn't feel right to force them into place as he had with his first blade. But it wasn't until Rey reached out to guide his fingers that he realized what was wrong. They were two halves of a whole. The blades wanted to respond to both of them. So when his crystals were settled correctly, he helped Rey position hers.

They inserted the resonators into the hilts and had Artoo seal the units. Then, after the droids moved to the wall by the cockpit, they activated the blades. Rey's was a light yellow, while Ben's was a bit darker, but still yellow. Artoo whistled, prompting Threepio to translate "They match the wave frequencies of the Tatooine stars at sunset."

Anakin laughed. "They do."

Obi-Wan nodded approvingly. "It seems appropriate that they match the two suns that once were declared the sentinels that watched over the beginning of the galaxy. It will be your responsibility to watch over its rebirth."

At this, Rey bowed her head, accepting her new role.

Ben, however, looked terrified.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Details of lightsaber construction gathered from Wookieepedia, primarily from the 'kyber crystal' section. The combination theory is based on a spoilers article from the gamesradar+ website
> 
> Glossary: kylo (caelum)= sky (Latin, or High Galactic), vadizo = walk (Greek, Corellian)


	11. Chapter 11

Rey reached out to Ben to try to calm him. Ben shook for a moment as he put up a barrier in the bond before she could do more. He wanted to keep himself from hurting her. "I don't trust myself," he said quietly to Obi-Wan. "How in the Force am I to help watch over a galaxy?"

Obi-Wan realized that Ben was asking this of the universe, not him. So he stayed silent.

Ben let Rey put an arm around him, but the pain in his expression didn't change. "I'm a danger to you," he murmured into Rey's hair. "What if my balance fails?"

"I will pull you back again," Rey assured him. But it wasn't enough for Ben. Anakin had contributed to the death of his wife, a woman he had loved just as much as being a Jedi. But when the Dark wrapped itself around him, he ended up destroying what he loved. Ben had loved his parents, even as mistakes were made on all of their parts. He didn't know if the love had died or he had buried it when he left the Light. It was a confused time, even for him. But no matter which was true, the love had come back to him, even as he had destroyed his father. Now he loved Rey. He had even more to lose if he fell to the Dark again.

And every time the Dark took over the galaxy, it buried, destroyed, and plundered all the love the rest of the beings had as well. He couldn't be responsible for that a second time. He would have Rey kill him first.

A moment after that thought, a voice whispered in his ear, "Rey doesn't need your bond to tell what you're thinking right now. She's not at all happy about it."

Ben looked up into his uncle's face, startled at his presence. Luke just shrugged. "I figured I should be here. I know what it's like to panic at the Dark. I want to help you." He looked to Rey. "Will you trust me with your other half?"

Rey smiled. "Of course."

"Then Leia would like to talk to you in the bedroom while we take care of Threepio."

Rey nodded. But before she left, she pulled Ben into a kiss. "I am with you no matter where I am," she reminded him.

Ben leaned his forehead gently on hers. "I want to be there for you. But I need to figure out how to be strong for you first."

"Then let yourself be weak now," Rey pleaded softly. "Let yourself recover. Let yourself be loved, so you can love in return. Weakness can be strength."

Ben stared into her eyes. She stared back, waiting patiently. He sighed. "It didn't help last time."

"This time, you have people who understand you," Rey said as she nodded to Anakin and Obi-Wan. "But you have to be willing to be vulnerable for us to help you."

"I am trying to accept that." Ben looked to Luke, remembering his uncle repeating Yoda's words to him. But he didn't need a lecture right now. He needed to know he had people to keep him from drowning in his own thoughts.

This time, Luke didn't repeat Yoda's mantra about trying. He just nodded. "Acceptance may come when you least expect it if you keep trying."

Ben let Rey see his fears for a moment. She acknowledged each one and examined it. Then she looked up with empathy in her eyes. "Can I talk to your mom and grandmother about them? To see if they have any suggestions to help you?" she asked.

For a moment, Ben worried that he'd lose his mother's acceptance of him if she heard about his fears. But Rey's determination to defend him flowed through the bond. Her confidence that he would not leave the Light again without a struggle had him nodding his acquiescence. 

Luke looked relieved. "I tried going it alone too much. I should have listened to my gut and asked Wedge if he knew where I had gone wrong with you. I know he realized something had been bothering you. But I was sure he'd never speak with me again after our fight." 

"You have a better situation than we did. Listen to each other. Listen to those around you. Get in touch with the beings around you. *That* will help you find balance, just as much as the connection between the two of you."

"But we're going to Tatooine. Most of it is 'a hive of scum and villany'. There aren't many being who would want to be in touch with us," Ben scoffed softly.

"Trust the force, Ben." Luke smiled as Ben let out a shout of laughter.

Rey looked confused, but accepted Ben's "I'll explain later." She headed to the bedroom.

Ben then asked Threepio if he was still sure that he wanted his old memories. When Threepio gave him a 'Yes', the three generations of Skywalkers, along with Obi-Wan, settled on the long couch attached to the bulkhead so that Ben had help transferring the memories to the protocol droid.

He was the only one of all of them who had no experience in updating or fixing Anakin's eldest 'child'. So he would need all the help he could get.

\----

When Rey went into the bedroom, Leia was sitting on the bed and talking to her mother. "His anger wasn't your fault. Luke and I both believe it was from the secrecy you two had to keep. He was afraid of what would happen to us, well Luke, if the council found out."

"I didn't like that we had to keep it a secret. But the rules of the Jedi were centuries old. Neither of us knew how to challenge them." Padme sighed. "His anger isolated him even more than the Jedi did. It saddened me as much as it scared me. But I didn't know how to fight it. I'd even watch him after I was dead and the emperor put him in that awful suit. To see if someone or something could chase the anger away. But Palpatine knew how to stop any efforts. Nobody could really see Anakin, or touch him. The Force most likely became sick of my tears from watching him before Luke finally found a way."

"Or it may have been your tears that helped Luke find a way to connect to Anakin." Rey suggested. "We don't know how the Force influenced him."

"Rey is probably right. You were never far from Vader's mind. Father was very worried for you when we joined the Force. He didn't know whether to stay away from you so he didn't hurt you, or seek you out to make sure you weren't alone." Leia added.

"I wanted to be with him. It was easier to show him that when he started helping Ben. The Dark can twist good feelings or good ideas so easily. It was a relief to be able to show him how much we were like you and Ben." Padme nodded to Rey. "Or even some ways like you and your Corellian." She smiled at Leia. 

Leia nodded. "The Dark affected both of us when Ben Turned. We stopped listening to each other, and started blaming each other instead. Luke going into hiding didn't help. He had bridged the gap between Han and me at times. He seemed to understand us both without even trying."

Padme hid her face for a moment. Rey wondered if a statement like that had been what propelled Padme into politics at a young age. Her earnest attempts to understand the beings around her most likely helped her until Rey's grandfather found a way to use it against her.

"He was subtle at first," Padme nodded as she picked up Rey's musings. "With both me and Anakin. But Anakin's need to feel important kept him by that man's side even when the rest of us could see the wrong he was doing."

"Ben fell into the same trap. Han and I didn't tell him how important he was to us. Luke tried to fill the gap when he trained Ben. But he didn't want him to neglect the hard work of training. Luke may have ended up repeating Obi-Wan's mistake because of it." Leia frowned. "Keep listening to Ben, Rey. Listen to your students when they come. And when they fail, don't let them drown in blame. Because of my adopted father, Ben was born a prince. But he found that he wasn't good enough for any of us, even though he tried so hard. Part of me understands why he sought to claim his birthright through Vader. That one, he knew how to earn."

"I will make sure Ben has support and that I show him his worth. I missed out on that too, when *he* killed my parents." Rey knew that she would always have trouble acknowledging the man whose blood flowed through her veins. Leia understood that. She had had her own problems acknowledging Anakin.

Leia made the attempt for her son, however. She opened the bedroom door just enough to peer into the living room. "Father really built Threepio?"

Padme smiled in memory. "When he was nine. I met Threepio just as Anakin was finishing with him. He was so happy to make something useful for his mother, and to help Threepio become whole again."

"So we are Threepio's second family," Leia mused.

Padme shook her head as she moved to stand with her daughter. "Anakin found the disassembled parts when he went scavenging with a friend in Mos Espa. They were torn, beaten and broken. Threepio may have belonged to one of the Hutts earlier but he didn't have a family until Anakin."

"That explains something I've always wondered about. Vader should have disposed of Threepio on Bespin. But instead, he put him in a holding cell with Chewie. He probably knew Chewie could fix him."

"It's harder to destroy the one you create than the one who creates you," Rey said softly. "Kylo Ren never hurt me, not really. Because somewhere in the Darkness, Ben realized he had a hand in what I was becoming."

"Then let him have a hand in creating the next set of Jedi," Leia urged.

"I will. I believe I already know how." Rey smiled as she joined Leia and Padme at the door to watch those they loved make sure that nobody was forgotten.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The speculation about Threepio's past is inferred from the (very short) comic Thank the Maker (in the collection Star Wars Tales, Volume 2). If you are as tickled as I am that Vader made Threepio, I'd recommend it. There's one illustration in it that just pulls at the heart.

Ben stared at his large hand as he held Threepio's old memory module. He wanted to put it down and tell Threepio that he couldn't do the transfer. He wasn't sure he could perform the delicate work needed to restore the protocol droid's past to him. At that moment, he felt awkward. That awkwardness seemed to surround him. It was also how he felt when he tried to center himself in the Light. It was as if he didn't belong there anymore.

Perhaps he didn't belong behind wires without his father or Chewbacca.

Anakin just snorted. "If you'd practice more, you'd be at least as good as your father was. You should have an easy time with it once your mood settles. And consider what you have. Try wiring a ship while wearing thick gloves. That turns awkward into impossible."

Ben eyed his grandfather as he calmed himself, then motioned the droids closer. "I thought your hands were mechanical."

"All my limbs were, except for my wiring hand." Anakin gave Obi-Wan a wry look. "You probably should have taken that one too."

Obi-Wan shook his head sadly. "You needed that connection to your humanity. It may have been small, but it could have made a difference when Luke came to you."

"You're probably right. I drew on everything I had when I Turned away from Palpatine to save Luke. His mechanical hand shocked me, even though I was the one who made it a necessity. " Anakin remembered staring at Luke's mechanical hand as they fought. The similarities his son had to him pulled at him. There were those who said Anakin turned Dark because he couldn't let go of his attachments. But it was the single remaining attachment in the Light that had saved him. Darth Vader had suffered as he watched his son being beaten down by Palpatine.

He had that feeling again as he watched his grandson. Both sides of Anakin had followed Ben closely when he had Turned. He had wanted to take advantage of every moment of hesitation to help Rey draw Ben back to the Light. The hesitation he saw in his grandson now, however, was the one he had had as he watched Palpatine try to kill Luke. 'How do I do the right thing?' was the question etched on Ben's face.

So the man who had never been a father to his children took a deep breath (that his ghostly form didn't need, but it did calm the Force surrounding him). He looked to Obi-Wan, who smiled and nodded. Then he said to Ben, "Call Artoo over. Because we can't switch modules, he needs to run an integration algorithm on both sets of memories."

Ben nodded and helped the astromech move to a good spot. Artoo settled quickly as Luke showed Ben how to wire the two droids together. "Make sure Threepio's connection is tight. About as tight as Chewie makes the hyperdrive controller."

"Why so tight?" Ben asked curiously.

"Because he has a tendency to panic?" Anakin suggested wryly.

Luke nodded in agreement. "He has already broken transfer wires because he was disturbed by a memory before it was fully placed."

"Did you find his personality matrix in your salvaging?" Ben asked Anakin as he sat Threepio on the couch. The position would most likely help, as it gave the cord between the two droids enough slack so Artoo had time to adjust to Threepio's movements.

Anakin shook his head. "He has his original matrix. When I was rebuilding him, Mom suggested that his tendency to panic might be left over from how his previous owner treated him. She suspected he was owned by a Hutt."

Luke sighed wearily. "I hope it wasn't Jabba. If it was, I sent him back to his nightmare."

Ben gave Luke a sympathetic look. "You were with him almost the whole time, and so was Mom. He was as safe as he could be in that place, even though he didn't know it at the time."

"I still should have given him a choice. Leia said that his eye was falling out when she found him after we took over because one of Jabba's menagerie was trying to eat it." Luke laid his hand on Threepio's shoulder. Who he was trying to calm, himself or the droid, wasn't clear. But both seemed a little more settled because of it.

The father, however, grew more agitated. "He was missing photoreceptors when I found him," Anakin muttered.

Since Threepio's original memory module had also been missing, there was no way to find out the truth about his past. So Ben sat on the floor in front of Threepio to talk to him before any procedures were done.

"Do you feel safe with me here, Threepio?" Ben asked quietly.

"I do," the droid answered. "Mistress Rey has made it clear that you regret the awful things you have done. You have also shown me more kindness in the past few days then you had even as a child."

"I'm sorry I haven't treated you better. I let my frustrations get the better of me," Ben sighed. "That's why Luke is here to watch over what I do with you. And Anakin will guide me through the procedure."

"That is comforting. Master Luke knows me well. Master Anakin most likely knows more about me than I do since he was my creator," Threepio nodded. "Artoo says that their presence feels like a breeze. I do feel a shift in the climate controls."

Ben met Threepio's eyes. "Since you can feel them in some way, maybe you can resolve their worry. They are both concerned that your trip to Jabba's palace was too disturbing for you in some way."

"It *was* disturbing." Threepio shifted his arms as he tended to when agitated. "But I was able to help retrieve your father. That made both Princess Leia and Master Luke happy. So I served an important purpose. I would not ask for more."

Ben acknowledged this with a bow of his head. Luke squeezed Threepio's shoulder plating, then sat down next to him to keep an eye on the droid's mood while the others worked on his memory.

Ben connected the old module to one of Artoo's input ports as Anakin watched. Then the two former Dark Lords watched the holodisplay of the details of the transfer to Artoo's spare memory.

"Well, I'm glad you didn't wait any longer to return to the Light. The module's storage is starting to disintegrate," Anakin muttered as he watched the numbers on the display.

"Will Artoo have any trouble integrating the two sets of data?"

Anakin shook his head. "He shouldn't. I don't see any lost sections. Just a slow transfer. This will be the last time that module can be used."

Ben asked Threepio if he would like the module destroyed, since it had no purpose after this transfer. Oddly, Threepio requested that Artoo keep it in the chamber where Luke had stored his lightsaber. Artoo agreed. Ben wondered at that. Droids weren't known for sentimentality.

When the transfer finally completed, Artoo ran a few diagnostics to check the integrity of the data, then opened his connection to Threepio to begin the integration.

Threepio stiffed immediately.

A moment later, the three women came out of the bedroom. Rey sat with Threepio so she faced Luke, while Padme sat with Anakin on the floor, and Leia looked over her son's shoulder.

"The breeze is stronger," Threepio said. He was visibly trying to calm himself even as the memories caused him issues.

Ben nodded. "Mom and Grandmother Padme are also here."

"Mistress Padme always treated me like family," Threepio said wistfully. "Much like Master Luke did. Or--Master Anakin when he was young." The droid sounded surprised as he accessed the last memory.

"Mom told me that I made you part of my family when I rebuilt you," Anakin said quietly, nodding to Rey as she indicated she would convey the message. "You are a Skywalker, and so is Artoo. The only one who can remove that bond now is you. But we all rather you stayed to help Rey and Ben. They need family by their side to remind them of our successes and failures. That will help them do better than we did."

"I do not wish to leave, Master Ani." Threepio looked right at the spot where Anakin sat. "I must look after Master Ben for the Princess and Captain Solo. I choose to help him not stray again."

"I am honored, and I accept your help, sirs," Ben said as Artoo beeped his agreement.

Ben closed his eyes to access the bond between him and Rey. They had a short discussion without saying a word. A moment later, Ben turned to his mother. "Do you think Dad would mind if I changed my name?"

Leia took a deep breath, then shook her head. "Solo was a description, not a name. An inaccurate one at that. Just make sure you honor your family name properly."

Ben looked to Rey and the droids. "I will. I will correct my mistakes. I will learn."

Rey smiled. "You've already begun to, Ben Skywalker."

Ben's past and future finally connected. He couldn't speak as he realized that he now had a path to follow that made sense. So he entwined his hand with Rey's and listened to Threepio discover how much he had helped his creator.


	13. Chapter 13

Ben watched as Rey expertly landed the yacht in the sand behind the Lars homestead. As he did, he realized that he couldn't have accomplished the same. Ben had never learned how to land an awkward vehicle like this one because he had considered himself better than his teachers.

He had acted like a recalcitrant child for far too long. That had not only aided Palpatine in guiding him to the Dark Side, it had also made him ignore the people who had been attempting to teach him skills that would help him throughout life.

Ben would ask Rey for advice on landing mid-sized personal ships at a later date. At the moment, they needed to clear the sand out of the homestead's walkways so the droids could enter it. Ben went to clear out the entrance to the underground shed, the only part of the place he had ever been in.

Rey went to tackle the house.

Ben left Rey with the warning that he wasn't sure what state the house was in. When he was here with his uncle, Luke had gone into the shed to retrieve droid parts that he had known Owen had stored. He had avoided the house completely.

As he finished cleaning the walkway with a few supplies that Wedge had left in the yacht, he heard Rey talking to someone. As he walked towards them, he heard his other half say the name 'Rey Skywalker'. A smile took over his face as he came to stand next to her.

The woman had been surprised to see people at the residence that had been empty for all but a few days of a long stretch of years. But now she was satisfied that the place was lived in. She nodded at them. "It'll be good to have life here. It has felt like death for too long."

With that, she continued on her way.

When she was out of sight, Rey smiled at Ben. "All of you have given me something that will help me watch over the galaxy. I wear the name as an honor."

"The honor is ours." Ben whispered back. A second later, it was if his sentence was part of the wind that blew past them.

Ben then called the droids over so they could witness Rey burying the twins' lightsabers in the sand next to the steps leading into the house.

All four of them were somber until the dyad looked up to see the ghosts of the twins smiling at them. The dyad smiled back and held each other's hand as the specters faded. This was their home now.

\----

Neither Rey nor Ben knew much about moisture farming, but the droids seemed to know enough to get the equipment working. Artoo claimed that he would be able to calibrate the equipment to serve the needs of twenty humans, even in its rather shoddy condition.

Ben agreed that this would keep them happy for the moment. They would consider updating the equipment if Rey decided to start the next Jedi training camp at the homestead. The newest Jedi Master wanted to see how Ben responded to the Dark and Light balanced in the planet before making her decision.

So they found a large piece of cloth and some poles in the shed to make a shaded area near the reclaimers. Then they sat in the sand to help them channel the Force within the planet and among its inhabitants.

At first, the task seemed easy. They could feel the echoes of Luke's presence in the homestead, along with a whisper of Anakin's. Obi-Wan's presence echoed from the dunes behind them. Those feelings were comforting.

Then came the echoes of the beings in Mos Eisley to the south, and further in the north, Mos Espa. Light and Dark seemed to circle around each other in both places. But when they felt an old echo of Vader's presence from the area that was once Jabba's palace, Ben reached to clutch Rey's hand.

'He is your grandfather,' Rey whispered through the bond as she tried to calm his panic. 'He has guided you both in Darkness and back to the Light. Don't be afraid to touch his Dark side. You need to know it to help control the Dark within you.'

So Ben held on tightly to the bond as he reached toward Vader's presence. In that fifty year old echo he felt anger, fear, and a sad resignation. The anger was recognizable. It was similar to what had driven him.

The fear was foreign to Ben. Vader had feared his new master and his new state of being inside the life support suit. Kylo Ren had had no fear of Snoke, only respect (rather ill placed, however). Nor had he had any fear of his trappings of war. He had worn his helmet as a sign of his birthright and commitment to Vader's beliefs. Vader had worn his because he had had no other choice. When he had been to Tatooine to see Jabba, Vader had still felt awkward with it, and unsure of its ability to shield his overly sensitive scars. But it also provided a protection. Nobody had known how awkward he had felt because they could not see the vulnerable being inside the suit.

Ben empathized with the awkwardness, at least. He had felt awkward when communicating with Rey when they had been on opposing sides. The Dark Side made you hide that feeling under bravado, lest you risk losing your authority. But without anyone to confide in or help with it, that feeling often led to rash decisions.

'He didn't stop being human when he was put into the suit,' Rey said gently as she probed Ben's past feelings of awkwardness. 'It just gave him a place to hide.'

Rey guided Ben through understanding how the Dark master had used that awkwardness as a weapon against Vader, and against Kylo Ren. It made them less than perfect. It made them weak. So they needed to be angrier to be stronger.

'I would have never been good enough for him,' Ben realized. 'He would have always held something over my head.'

Rey nodded. 'He did that to Vader. He would have done that to me too, if I had turned. He was very good at manipulating people.'

Ben suddenly felt a sense of horror. If Rey had turned, she would have been put in the trap that he and Anakin had suffered through.

If she had been alone...

'I wasn't alone. I had the beings of the Light and I had you. All of you reminded me of exactly where I wanted to be.' Rey opened her eyes to lean into a kiss. Suddenly Ben's warmth had nothing to do with the dual suns above them.

Rey laughed. 'Let's finish understanding Vader when he was here. Then you may distract me however you choose.'

Ben smiled and agreed.

So they focused on the emotion Vader had hidden deep inside himself, the resignation.

Rey realized rather quickly that the resignation was actually grief. Vader had learned of Padme's death on his way to Tatooine. He had realized that he had been responsible for his wife's death. But he did not allow himself more than momentary sadness. Here too, the old man held influence. Although the master knew nothing of this struggle within his apprentice, his words held sway. Sadness was a sign of weakness.

But here, Vader did not have the strength to be angry. He had loved his wife too much to hold onto the last words he had thrown at her. He knew he had been trying to fool himself even as he had accused her of crimes against him.

Ben understood Anakin's pain in this. Mourning was not easy when you were on the Dark Side. He had felt unable to mourn his mother until he was wrapped in Rey's arms. Rey had allowed him to feel his pain instead of the anger that her grandfather had fostered. He still felt guilty when he missed Han. If he had been able to shove the anger away from himself, he wouldn't have to miss him.

Rey squeezed Ben's hand. 'He forgave you. He gave you permission to miss him.' She let his hand and the bond go for a moment so that he could find his connection with his father.

As he did, he visibly relaxed. The Dark had been put in its place for now.

\----

The dyad dismantled their makeshift tent and went to check on the droids. After thanking them for their hard work, Rey cleaned Artoo and set up a resting space for him. Ben found old containers of oil to set up a bath for Threepio. 

Once the droids were settled, they went into the house. A dinner of ration bars would keep them until they could venture into Mos Eisley for supplies. It was more important that Ben knew nothing had changed between them even though he had touched his grandfather's Dark side again.

Rey sighed with relief when the love she sent towards Ben was returned immediately. There was a desperate edge to his feelings, however. So she spent some time just holding him until he calmed. Then she showed him that they still could share everything between them. Then she reminded him how pleasure was meant to be a part of life.

They slept until the second sun was beginning to set. When they woke, they grabbed their lightsabers and ran outside.

The dyad flipped the weapons on and held them so they could compare each to the suns in the sky.

Laughing like children, they discovered how right Artoo had been. The sabers matched the setting suns almost exactly.

Moments later, the comparison turned into a dance. Sabers and bodies moved effortlessly and they discovered more of their bond. It became a celebration, of their lives, of their love.

It became a glimpse into the future they knew was coming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of the Darth Vader comic sets (Kieron Gillen's, I believe), had Vader confronting Jabba. So I figured he'd come to Tatooine at some point to make sure the Hutts knew of the new market for their goods, when the Empire rose.


	14. Chapter 14

While Rey went into Mos Eisley to buy supplies, Ben decided to head out on foot to Obi-Wan's hut. 

Rey was immediately concerned, as Ben had not up to this point dealt with desert conditions for more than a few hours at a time. So Ben assured her that he would keep the bond open, and carry a communicator and his lightsaber.

Rey agreed, somewhat reluctantly. His joining her in the small city was not an option, yet. If someone discovered who he was, they might use the information to hurt them, or those who were seeking to rebuild the Republic. But confinement to the homestead would be difficult for Ben. The short trip across the desert was the best solution at the moment.

So after checking on the droids, who were making upgrades to the reclaimers with the spare parts on-hand, Ben headed out.

The robes he had found in the master bedroom shielded him from the sun. But as he headed away from the scattered homes in the area, that protection became less important.

He didn't realize how much he needed other protection until he was close to Kenobi's hut.

It started with a yell from something that sounded like a wild animal. Then something tackled him from behind. Hands gripped him, trying to hold him still. So it wasn't an animal. He must have stumbled into a group of sandpeople! 

Ben grabbed his lightsaber off his belt and activated it. But before he could turn around to fight them off, he felt something odd. A mental touch through the Force.

It wasn't from Rey. He couldn't mistake her touch for anyone else's, not at this point. There was nothing familiar about the touch. Nobody he knew was reaching out to him. It didn't have any sense of distance, a feeling that even Rey's touch had when they were far apart. Was it one of the Tuskans?

Legend said that the Tuskan had descended from the humans who had emerged from Tatooine when it had been a jungle. So it was possible.

Ben kicked out to shake off his attacker, then slowly turned. He was facing three Tuskans. All covered in headgear and tattered robes. From the similarities in their garments, he suspected they were all from the same tribe.

Two of them looked ready the kill him with blaster rifles. The third, however, held them back. The being cocked its head in a way that eerily reminded Ben of Threepio trying to decipher a human's wishes.

The apparently curious Tuskan touch Ben's leg. The moment it did, an image formed in his mind. It was of the Tuskan holding his arm, leading him into their home.

Ben knew nothing of the Tuskan language, so he cocked his head to indicate his question of 'Why?'

The Tuskan gave him another image, of darkness, then light. It repeated two more times. Ben guessed that the Tuskan wanted to reveal something, so he sent the being an image of opening his hands to reveal a ball inside them, with the image of darkness and light.

A moment later, the Tuskan grabbed Ben's arm firmly to help him up.

Awkwardness did not begin to describe Ben's feelings as he stood there with his lightsaber still between him and the two growling Tuskans. But he made no move to defend himself, as the one holding his arm sent him images of crackling fires and star lit skies. Trying to calm him, he supposed.

So he deactivated his saber and sent a quick thought to Rey. 'I need to do something in private.' Then he closed the bond.

The Force sensitive Tuskan reachen to Ben's face, causing him to back away in alarm. But all the being did was adjust the hoods of the robe so they covered his face. The being then pulled a set of bantha-leather gloves from their pack to cover Ben's hands.

Making sure his lightsaber was securely tucked out of sight in his robe, Ben let the Tuskan take his arm again.

As they walked into the Tuskan village, Ben remembered the tales Luke had told him as a child. Few people knew what Tuskans looked like because they rarely revealed their faces, even to each other. Because of that, many in Mos Eisley and the surrounding areas had believed that Imperial troops had hid among them.

Ben began to suspect the same when the Tuskan pulled him into an abode. The first thing that he saw when he looked to the center table was an activated holo next to an old dusty hat that looked similar to ones Imperial officers wore.

It was his turn to growl, to indicate his suspicion and displeasure.

The Tuskan shut the door to the dwelling, then turned to Ben. "Wox," the being said, pointing to the holo.

Ben didn't know much Bocce. But Threepio had taught him a few words. The Tuskan was saying 'you' as they pointed. So he looked at the image more closely. When he did, his knees gave out and he sat heavily on the floor.

Before him was an image of his grandfather as a young child, holding the hand of a woman who Ben guessed was his great-grandmother.

The Tuskan knelt next to Ben and pointed to a switch on the holo's base.

When Ben pressed it, a somewhat twisted voice with a Coruscant twang seemed to order, "Kill the woman!"

Ben shivered as he heard the voice of Rey's grandfather. Obi-Wan had said that Anakin had lost control when his mother had died. Ben found out how much control he had lost when the Tuskan touched his arm again. An image of his grandfather, blue saber blazing, accompanied screams and rivers of blood slowly disappearing into the sand.

The former Dark lord shivered. "I'm so sorry," he whispered, holding his hands palm up as his head bowed.

The Tuskan touched the top of his hood until he raised his head. One more revelation then shone before him.

The being had taken off their headgear to reveal...a human male of around 50 or 60 years.

His skin was grayer than was natural for a human, even an ill one. So Ben guessed he wasn't completely human. "Cor," the Tuskan said, thumping his chest with his fist.

"Ben," the younger man returned, copying the Tuskan's gesture.

Just then, another Raider stormed into the dwelling and started yelling at Cor. The Raider pointed to Cor's face, then to Ben. Worried that Cor would be punished for what he revealed, Ben activated his lightsaber, and stood between the two Tuskans. 

The yelling Tuskan backed away immediately.

They stood an an impasse for a few moments. Then the communicator in Ben's pocket crackled with Threepio's voice, in a panic.

"There's a sandstorm coming your way, Master Ben!," the droid exclaimed as Ben clicked the communicator.

"Thanks, Threepio," Ben replied quietly. "I'll make sure to get inside. Are you two safe?"

"Yes, sir. We are settled in the shed until the storm passes." The droid seemed to calm as he heard his former charge's voice.

"Good. Make sure Rey knows about the storm. And tell her it may be awhile until I get back."

"Yes, sir. Please stay safe."

Ben smiled as he remembered how hard Threepio had tried to keep him safe when he was younger. "I will."

He clicked off the communicator and stuck it back into his pocket. Turning, he touched Cor to warn him of the impending sandstorm.

Cor looked out the door and gave a sharp nod. He waved his hands at the other Tuskans and barked at them, presumably giving orders. Then he pointed towards the direction Ben had been taking earlier and said in broken Basic, "Go to dragon man."

He touched Ben and showed him an image of an old man in Jedi robes making an awful animalistic sound to chase away the Tuskans who were beginning to encroach on a young Luke Skywalker.

Cor had known the man had made the sound instead of the krayt dragon his brethren had assumed was nearby. But he had told nobody, because he had sensed the power in the old man and his young charge.

Ben sent Cor images of an older Luke and a younger Kenobi, to show that he was connected to them. Cor smiled before putting his headgear back on and adjusting Ben's hood so he was properly covered. Then he guided the younger being out of the village and towards the hut.

They hurried into the hut as the storm began whipping around them. Ben was surprised at how quickly the echo of Obi-Wan's presence calmed him as the two beings shut the door and checked the plasteel shutters on the window.

He pulled the emergency light from the small pack under his robe tunic, along with two ration bars. He offered one of the bars to Cor. Cor took off his headgear to smell the bar. When the Tuskan wrinkled his nose, Ben shrugged. "It's all I have," he said.

Cor must have understood the meaning of Ben's words, because he took a bite of the bar. He offered his jug of water to Ben, who bowed his head in thanks before he took a swig and handed it back.

Ben took a moment to look around the small abode as he opened the bond to tell Rey that he was safe with a companion in the hut. Rey immediately expressed her relief. A moment later, two small dinners and glasses of blue juice appeared on the table at Ben's side.

'Thank you, min gylif.' Ben sent through the bond. She accepted the words of affection this time as the bond told her how glad he was for her presence.

Then, with effort, Ben pulled himself away from her. As he turned to wave Cor over, he spotted a deck of sabacc cards lying on a shelf. He grabbed them before gesturing to the Tuskan.

Cor came over and took the cards out of Ben's hand before spotting their meals on the table. He cocked his head in question. So Ben sent him and image of Rey holding a lightsaber in her hand, then of himself pulling the same lightsaber from behind his back.

The Tuskan gaped at him. So Ben just shrugged again.

Cor shook his head as he sat at the table across from Ben. They ate in silence. When they were done, Cor began to shuffle the cards as if he was Lando Calrissian. So Ben smiled and gestured expansively to the table. Before he dealt the cards, Cor touched Ben's hand to send an image of playing cards with a human male in Tuskan robes. Ben guessed it was his father.

So Ben sent an image of playing the game with Han and Chewbacca.

Cor conveyed his curiosity about how Ben knew the Wookiee, so between hands of sabacc he showed Cor images to tell the story of how Han had met his best friend. 

Cor fiddled with his cards for a moment, then touched Ben's arm to show a younger version of the Tuskan yelling at his father right before a krayt dragon devoured him.

Ben sighed, knowing Cor had sensed his unease concerning Han. So he sent the dreaded memory of killing Han with his saber. He kept his eyes down, however, not willing to look at the accusation in the Tuskan's eyes.

Cor grabbed his hand and squeezed gently instead.

When Ben finally raised his head, Cor gave a sharp nod. Then he dealt another hand of sabacc.

Ben nodded his head in thanks.

When they finally slept that night, Cor did so leaning against the door. He had urged Ben to take the bed, not allowing any of Ben's nonverbal protests.

In the early morning, Cor urged him out of the hut and set off straight for the homestead. He watched for his brethren with a keen eye, for once not hidden by his headgear. Ben knew he waved off other Tuskans a few times before they set foot on the Lars property.

Rey came out to greet them with the droids. She bowed to Cor. He smiled and bowed back. Struggling with the Basic, he waved to Ben. "A good man."

Rey nodded. "He is."

Cor grabbed Threepio for a moment and said something to him in Tuskan. Threepio translated it as "I will watch you and the other power users."

Realizing they had gained a guardian, Ben thanked him. Rey added that he was welcome there at any time.

Cor nodded again, then said two more distinct words to Ben before putting on his headgear and disappearing into the sand.

"What did he say, Threepio?" Ben asked as he watch the sand blow in the distance.

"Forgive yourself."


	15. Chapter 15

As Rey and Ben adjusted to their new home, they began to make plans for the return of the Jedi.

Their first goal was to teach each other. They did not want to repeat the errors of the past, so understanding the Light and Dark within each other was paramount. They needed to be able to achieve balance more easily so they could pass it on to their students. Although this would take practice, they could take the first steps now by understanding the Dark around them, rather than repelling or embracing it. Both extremes could be dangerous.

And Rey would not bring students without assuring that Ben felt secure in his balance. If he leaned too far into the Dark, she would be there to help him get back. He had to trust this before they brought anyone else to the homestead. Rey would not be abiding by old Jedi Code. They would create a new one that would seek understanding the fear of loss to lessen it. The Jedi could not be once again disconnected from the galaxy. Because that allowed the Dark too many places to hide.

Ben would use his past as a way to help the future. He understood the Dark in ways that even Rey didn't. Others would learn to respect what Rey knew: that he appreciated the Light in ways that she never could, even as he fought to recreate his place in it.

They started with the basics. Rey taught Ben the lessons Luke tried to teach him that had been ignored. Ben taught Rey about the slippery slope he stood on when he began to talk to Snoke and how Snoke had manipulated him into sliding slowly down it.

Each day before the second sun rose, they danced in the sand as one. Their unity was a given, but as they moved their bodies and sabers in counterbeats, they gave their feelings for each other to the Force. With that, they were armed with the arsenal that the Jedi of old worked hard to achieve by detachment: connection to all beings in the galaxy. They also gained an understanding that their union would not die if one or both of them left the physical plane. The dyad would continue in the Force.

With that understanding, the fear of loss that Palpatine had used against Anakin was considerably weakened.

It would take meditation, discussions, maybe even fights, to solidify the new point of view. But Rey realized quickly that this would be necessary. Love helped pull a being trapped by the Dark Side back to the Light, but it needed to be tempered by a sense of the greater good.

So for days, the danced, meditated, discussed and rested. They strengthened their bond, and let the Force support it.

Tuskans surrounded them when they sat or danced out on the sand. The tribe never intruded upon their training, they guarded silently. But at least once a day, Cor removed his headgear so that they could see his approval of their efforts.

The droids also gave silent approval. They doubled their efforts on the water reclaimers and repaired all manner of objects and equipment in the homestead so the two Force users could concentrate their efforts on the new Jedi's first steps.

The dyad thanked them all by continuing their efforts.

\----

The day it all changed was an especially hot day.

In deference to the elements, they ate their breakfast inside and gathered their makeshift tent before venturing into the sand.

So they were rather startled when Cor's face appeared in the doorway of the shed. Cor looked anxious as he said, "Ben, come."

Ben nodded and followed Cor to their training space near the reclaimers. Cor then handed Ben a pair of binocs and pointed to a dot in the sky. The former Dark lord focused the binocs on it.

"It's the Falcon," Ben sighed, touching Cor on the shoulder to give him and image of the ship, Han, and Chewbacca.

Rey, hearing through the bond, grabbed a communicator before coming out of the shed to join them.

As the droids followed, a few growls could be heard through the communicator. Rey handed it to Ben as he held out his hand.

"I'm sorry, Chewie. I wasn't sure you'd want to know that I was still alive," Ben replied softly. A few more growls followed. "Of course you can land here. Just do it slowly so our guardians can retreat to a safe distance."

Just then, Wedge's voice sounded over the communicator. "The sensors are picking them up, but I can't see them. Did you actually make friends with sandpeople?"

Ben chuckled. "I apologized for a huge loss caused by Grandfather. They, in turn, have generously guarded our training space."

"Commendable, Sir Jedi." Ben could imagine the satisfied smile on Wedge's face as the ship landed rather gently. Chewbacca had always been better than Han at landings. Han had saved his expertise for outrunning other ships.

Ben stayed back as the Falcon's hatch opened. Despite Chewie's grousing and Wedge's comments, he wasn't really sure of the reception he'd get. He had hurt so many people.

He was even less sure when the first being to emerge was the former Stormtrooper named Finn. Rey ran up to her friend and embraced him. Ben let her, closing the bond to give them some privacy.

He then watched as twenty other humans emerged. Most, he suspected, were also former Stormtroopers. He could feel their Force signatures.

They milled around Rey. He knew then that these would be her first students.

Finally, Chewbacca and Wedge Antilles emerged. The two of them didn't hesitate as they headed straight for Han's son.

A moment later, Ben was engulfed in fur and a loud roar reached his ears.

"I didn't think you'd care. Part of me figured you'd kill me if you found out." The whisper sounded inadequate to Ben, but it seemed to satisfy the Wookiee, because he was gathered closer to the strong body.

This time, a purr sounded next to his ear.

"I never wanted to be your cub more in my life. I'm sorry for all I put you through."

The Wookie and the man stayed in the embrace a few moments longer. When they finally separated, Ben fund that Cor and Wedge had tentatively learned to communicate through Old Correllian.

Ben chuckled. "Luke was right. He should have talked to you when I stared to pull away. If anyone could have figured my problem out, it would have been you."

Wedge grinned. "The lot of you have only yourselves to blame for my ingenuity. "

"I doubt that," Ben replied with a smile.

They watched the others for a few moments. Ben was just about to turn to go into the house when Finn separated from the group of students and walked over. 

Cor and Chewbacca were instantly on their guard.

Ben, however, knew that the new general had every right to berate him, if not attack him. So he lowered his eyes to the sand and waited.

Finn stood there silently until the tension became too much for Ben. A moment later, they were eye to eye.

"I want you to teach me about the Dark Side," Finn barked sharply. "I want to know how the creation of the new Jedi could go wrong, so I can help prevent it."

Ben opened his bond to Rey and looked her way. When she said nothing, but just gave him a gentle smile, he turned back to Finn with a nod.

"It's a good place to start."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit finished 3/24/20. Stay safe everyone!


End file.
